Oz
by Princess Kitty1
Summary: -AU- College brings 20 year old Inoue Orihime to the US, where a sudden tornado dumps her in a world at war. Now it's up to her to save Oz, with a talking cat, a cowardly munchkin, a traitor, and an untrustworthy heartless man at her side. -UlquiHime-
1. The Gas Station

**A/N: **Hello! I am Princess Kitty1, and when I wrote this story I was new to the Bleach genre but well-seasoned in others. I'd emerged from retirement to beat the dead Espada… I mean, pick on Ulquiorra, whom I miss dearly. This is the edited – and hopefully much improved – version of the first of my many Ulquihime fics.

This fic falls under dramady, meaning that if I did my job right, you will laugh one moment and cry eventually. :D Let's begin!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**The Gas Station**

When Inoue Orihime had signed up for The University of Phoenix's foreign exchange program, her mind had been filled with all sorts of romantic notions of America. In high school, she'd had plenty of friends who had visited the country and come back with crazy stories that had her imagination blazing. She wanted the adventure! She wanted the excitement! She wanted to embrace the new culture with arms open wide!

The glossy brochure had notinformed her that she would have to drive through the desert.

It had been hours since she had set out from El Paso, Texas, and _nothing had changed_. She could have sworn she'd seen that same cactus, that same rock formation, those same sand-colored mountains miles back. And the heat was insane! Perhaps the glossy red convertible that she guided down the rippling highway at a set speed of 70 miles per hour had not been such a good idea. Not to mention all the blowing dust…

But Orihime remained undeterred. She had come to America to feel the wind through her orange tresses, and damn it, she was going to do it!

"Eep!" she cried, ducking at the _clack _of a pebble hitting her windshield. Okay, maybe putting the top up would be a good idea. She could feel the wind through her hair later.

In the passenger seat next to her, a pet carrier with a blanket draped over its sides housed her faithful cat Yoruichi, who had made the trip across the ocean with her. She had been startled awake by the flying rock and sat wide-eyed, looking up at her mistress for reassurance. Orihime smiled at her. "It's alright. Nii-san promised me that it would only take two days to get there from El Paso." She looked back out at the road ahead, the endless expanse of rock and cactus and wide open sky. "Two days… of this."

When she got to her hotel tonight, she was going to hop online and make sure that everybody knew just how bleak the American desert was.

On the horizon, fluffy white clouds stretched up into the sky in billowing shapes that reminded her of an explosion. A bit panicked, she began to wonder if there had been a nuclear holocaust. Was she the only human left? No, impossible. There were other cars out on the road that passed sparingly, tearing up the road with no regard for the speed limit. Maybe they were speeding to get away from the disaster!

Wide-eyed, she turned on the radio and began flipping through the stations. Mostly static, punctuated by the occasional station playing Mexican music. Orihime frowned. She had studied her brains out to become fluent in English; no one had told her anything about Spanish, either.

Finally she settled on a pop station that came in and out as she passed rocky hills. No one was saying anything about a nuclear holocaust, so she could relax at least. Yoruichi meowed and yawned, laying her head back down on her front paws and closing her eyes. Up ahead, the sky was becoming a deep blue-gray color that mixed with the towering white clouds. The air seemed to be getting cooler as well. "Hmm. Maybe it'll rain," Orihime muttered as she checked her gas. The needle was dangerously close to the red E, but luckily, a passing sign promised an upcoming gas station. Her stomach growled noisily. Perhaps she would load up on snacks while she was at it, and she could take the opportunity to put the top up on the convertible before she got caught up in the rain.

The sign for the exit came so quickly that she nearly missed it, swerving onto the exit ramp and reducing her speed as she came to the intersection. The highway seemed to split here, a green sign listing three different cities with arrows pointing both ahead and to the right. She turned onto the smaller road and pulled into the gas station.

It was fairly big, probably the only one around for miles. There were separate pumps for the enormous trucks she had seen along the way, and the station itself boasted an eatery. She wanted to see what kind of foods the locals had to offer, but didn't trust her stomach to hold out for however many more miles it would take to get to the next city. "I'll be right back, Yoruichi," she told the sleeping cat and stepped out onto the dusty pavement.

The distant rainstorm was now close enough for Orihime to see that it was much bigger than she had originally thought. The blues morphed into lavenders and deeper grays, and from where she stood she could hear the rumbles of thunder it produced. She sighed, checking the gas pump. There was a friendly sign posted above the numbers: **PAY INSIDE.** "Oh, umm… alright," she muttered, grabbing her purse and striding purposefully towards the station.

A small bell chimed overhead as she entered, kicking the toes of her flip-flops against the welcome mat to clear her feet of dust. It was a normal gas station; rows of merchandise ranging from children's toys to canned goods, refrigerators stocked with beverages of all kinds, a rack of postcards with local wildlife and picturesque views of the mountains. Orihime browsed the selection of snacks, grabbing a shopping basket to load up. Candy bars, spongy cakes in plastic wrap, muffins… there was even a small selection of pet food. She grabbed a treat for Yoruichi and placed it in the basket, then picked some cold drinks out of the back freezer.

"_Hay alguien afuera?"_

"_Mande?"_

"_Que haces? Necesito ayuda con estos frijoles."_

"_Son frijoles. Que demonios esta tan dificil que no puedes con eso?"_

"_Yo no te veo aqui cocinandolos!"_

Orihime looked up curiously. There was a black-haired, dark-skinned boy at the register, sitting on a stool with his legs propped up on the counter, his gaze fixed on a magazine and a rickety looking fan blowing cool air straight into his face. He flipped a page, seemingly unbothered by whoever was yelling at him from the back. A radio next to his feet played the same cheerful Mexican music she had heard on what few channels she'd passed over.

Looking back down at the basket on her arm, Orihime quickly sifted through its contents to make sure she had gathered everything she wanted before walking down the aisle towards the cashier. He placed the magazine down and slipped off of the stool, not even making eye contact with her as she approached. He was almost a head taller than her. "Hello," she offered, then realized her folly. What if he didn't speak English?

"Find everything you needed?" he asked as he began withdrawing items from the basket and punching their prices into the old cash register. Orihime nodded and blushed, not trusting herself to say anything further. Idiot, of course he spoke English! And without the slightest hint of an accent, which was more than she could say for herself.

Suddenly, the music on the radio cut off, a shrill tone taking its place. This was followed by static and what sounded like a ringing phone, then another silence, and a voice began to speak.

"_The National Weather Service in Albuquerque has issued a tornado warning for the following counties…"_

The boy clicked his tongue and looked out the window. "Sounds bad. You're not going to drive through that, are you?" he asked Orihime, who blinked in surprise at the fact that he'd even addressed her. "It might be safer if you wait the storm out here."

"Oh, no, thank you!" She waved her arms sheepishly. "I'm in a bit of a hurry. I have to get to Phoenix, Arizona by tomorrow night at the latest or my older brother will have a cow."

"Hmm." The boy clearly hadn't paid attention to anything after _no, thank you_. "Will you be needing gas, too?"

Orihime nodded, craning her neck to see which pump she'd parked the convertible at. A flash of lightning made her jump. "Oh!" She held a hand up to her chest. "That was pretty scary!" But frightening or not, she needed to keep driving. She'd probably just get a load of rain dumped on her, which reminded her that she had to put the top up as well.

The boy placed her bags on the counter between them and handed her back her debit card. "Have a nice day," he said, picking up his magazine and turning to situate himself back on the stool. But the voice from earlier called out to him again and he sighed, side-stepping his perch and making his way to the back. Orihime smiled to herself as she pushed the station door open, then yelped as she was blasted by a chilly wind. She fought her way back to the convertible, placed the groceries on the floor and began wrestling with the top. Once she had secured it, she filled up her gas tank and went on her merry way.

It didn't take long for the rain to hit, causing a terrible racket. Yoruichi was wide-eyed again, meowing as Orihime struggled to keep the convertible in its lane. She could hardly see ten feet in front of the hood. "Don't worry, we'll get through this in no time!" she said to the cat.

Then suddenly the convertible pitched to the side. Orihime screamed. There was another violent heave, followed by the top of the convertible being ripped clean off with a snap. She gasped and grabbed Yoruichi's pet carrier, holding onto it for dear life as the car was thrown into the air, spinning and wheeling about in all directions. The seat belt constricted, sucking the air from her lungs. She couldn't breathe. Her head jerked backwards and hit the seat with enough force to send stars bursting across her vision.

Orihime squeezed her eyes shut as she was thrown around like a rag doll. Was she going to die like this, caught up in a tornado in the middle of the desert? Would the gas station guy find her mangled body pinned in the twisted and crumpled remains of her convertible the next day and shake his head pityingly, muttering an "I told you so" in Spanish?

But before Orihime could dwell on the subject much further, the convertible began to fall towards the earth below. She was hardly aware of the fact that she was screaming, still holding onto Yoruichi's carrier, not daring to open her eyes to see how far the tornado had thrown them. At the speed the car was dropping, it wasn't like she would have to worry about where she was landing anyway. The moment the wheels connected with the ground, the force of the impact jarred her into unconsciousness.

All she remembered thinking before she fainted was that, suddenly, it wasn't raining anymore.

**To Be Continued**


	2. Munchkins

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Munchkins**

Orihime had always wondered what the afterlife would be like. In college, there were many different types of free-thinkers, all with their own opinions on heaven, purgatory, enlightenment, or whatever they felt lay beyond the world of the living. But as Orihime came to, what she saw surrounding her was candy. Tons of candy. In fact, just beyond an assortment of giant lollipops and gumdrops she could see an entire village of gingerbread houses arranged around a loop with a platform in the center.

"Yoruichi, I think I've had this dream before, and I like how it ended," Orihime muttered, then sat up with a gasp. The tornado. The car. The desert. Unbuckling the seat belt, she grabbed Yoruichi's carrier, which had fallen onto the floor under the glove compartment. One of its sides was dented, caving in. She hoisted it up onto her lap and yanked the door open. The cat was nowhere to be found. "Yoruichi?" Orihime whimpered, looking around her. "Yoruichi-san!" Tears filled her eyes. Yoruichi had been her companion since the beginning of high school. What sort of grisly fate had the unfortunate feline met within the vortex? How was Orihime supposed to go on without her?

"Oh… my aching head…"

She jumped, startled, and turned to peer into the backseat. Among her suitcases and boxes, a small mass of black fur stirred, one paw stretching up to tentatively rub its ears. Orihime watched in amazement as Yoruichi, her beloved pet, opened her mouth and spoke. "That landing was rougher than I'd hoped for."

"Y-Yoruichi-san?" Orihime stared down at the cat, tears slipping down her cheeks. Yoruichi looked up at her.

"Orihime!" She leapt up onto the seat and rubbed her whiskered cheek against her mistress's. "You're okay! I was so worried about you!"

Orihime picked her up and embraced her. "I was worried about you, too, Yoruichi-san, but… you can talk?" She looked around her again. A village made of candy, a lovely sky just turning blue with the first rays of morning sunlight, green fields and tangled forests in the distance. "Well, never mind. I guess anything is possible in heaven."

Yoruichi blinked. "Orihime, we're not in heaven."

"Wait! This all seems familiar somehow!" Orihime snapped her fingers repeatedly, straining her mind. "Where have I seen this before?" Then her thoughts took her elsewhere, and the question of their current location was completely wiped out by concern for the convertible. "Oh no!" She put Yoruichi down and forced the car door open, stepping out onto the emerald green grass. The convertible had taken quite the beating; dents and scratches everywhere, a huge crack in the wind shield, and the tires were flat against the ground. "No, no, no! Yoruichi-san, what am I going to do? This car cost Nii-san a fortune! And how am I going to get to Arizona now?"

"I think that's the least of your worries," Yoruichi replied, watching her mistress circle the convertible. When Orihime got to the passenger side, her face drained of color. She took a shaking breath, stepped backwards, then stumbled and fell onto the grass. "What's wrong-?"

A scream tore from Orihime's throat, so loud that it echoed several times in the distance and startled a flock of crows. She pointed to the side of the car. Yoruichi climbed over her carrier and peered over the edge of the door.

"Oh, eww…" The cat recoiled from the sight of the bloody body – or half of one – pinned underneath the car. A torso, two legs and one arm clutching a strange scythe-like weapon.

Orihime was hyperventilating in sheer panic. She'd _killed _someone! She was a murderer! She would have to flee the country before the American police got wind of this and placed her on the FBI's most wanted list. **Crushed by a falling convertible**. Yes, that would make for an interesting episode. The entire nation would be watching! "What are we going to do?" she whispered a little hysterically. "Yoruichi-san, what are we going to do? That guy is dead! We can't leave him there!"

"Orihime…"

"We have to somehow lift the convertible, scoop his remains out and give him a respectable burial! Then we wash the guts out of the car, fix it up and keep going! Get a plane ticket back to Japan! Yeah! A-and we'll be home in no time! We can act like this never happened!" She broke down sobbing.

Yoruichi sighed, hopping over the broken windshield and carefully sliding down the hood of the car. She rubbed her furry body against Orihime's calf soothingly. "Calm down, Orihime. This is a good thing."

Orihime stared at her in horror. "Yoruichi-san is a criminal?"

"No, but that man was."

"How do you…" She gasped, her head whipping upwards. She had seen something out of the corner of her eye; movement coming from the gingerbread village. Now that she looked a bit closer, the door of every house was cracked open, curious eyes peering out at her and Yoruichi. Orihime tried to stay as still as possible. Hopefully, whoever it was would mistake her for a misshapen tree. There seemed to be plenty of those around.

Yoruichi cleared her throat – could cats do that? – and addressed the villagers. "It's alright!" she called out to them. "We come in peace!"

Silence. Orihime swallowed the lump in her throat. "We do, but what if they don't?" she whispered.

Finally, soft creaks arose from the village as the doors opened wider. Orihime blinked in surprise. They were… children? They had to be! They were hardly three feet tall! The tiny villagers gathered in the circular plaza, whispering and muttering amongst themselves as they drew cautiously closer. "_Remember, there's strength in numbers!_" Orihime heard one of them say. The congregation paused a safe distance away, then a lone little girl stepped away from them. She had short pink hair and enormous, round brown eyes.

"Welcome to Munchkinland, strangers!" she greeted them.

"He was dead when I found him!" Orihime cried guiltily, bursting into tears again. Yoruichi sighed, shaking her head.

The pink-haired girl and the other villagers gasped. The crowd pressed closer to the convertible, excited whispers flying. They stared at each other in disbelief. Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl walked right up to the body and gently kicked one of the legs sticking out from the bottom of the car. She looked up at Orihime. "You killed Nnoitra-sama," she stated simply.

"I'm sorry," Orihime whimpered, holding her hands out to be cuffed. Then, to her surprise, the villagers began to cheer. They swarmed her and Yoruichi, taking turns shaking her hand and rubbing the cat's ears. "Umm…" She wasn't sure what kind of backwards, lawless world she had stepped into, where people lived in candy rather than ate it and celebrated murder. Maybe these children were cannibals? "Oh!" She pitched forward a bit as the pink-haired girl, who had shoved her way through the crowd, seized her hand in both of hers and pumped it enthusiastically.

"Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Yachiru Kusajishi, and I'm the temporary leader of Munchkinland!" The girl continued shaking her hand. "Thank you so much for killing Nnoitra-sama! He was a very wicked man, one of the warlock Aizen's henchmen, and he has been tormenting us since our fearless leader Kenpachi-sama left for the battlefield!"

Warlock? Battlefield? Wait, _Munchkinland_? It all came back to Orihime so suddenly that she seized Yachiru by the shoulders and shook her. "I'm in Oz!" she cried, scrambling to her feet carefully so as not to kick any munchkins around her. "I've totally seen this movie before! It was dubbed over in Japanese, of course."

"Umm, Orihime," Yoruichi began, but didn't get anything else out before the orange-haired girl stepped over several munchkins to get to where Nnoitra's body lay.

"So if I want to get home, all I need are this guy's shoes!" Orihime said cheerfully, prying the boots off of the man's feet. "Sorry Munchkins! I'd love to stay here and live in this dream a little while longer, but I've got places to be! I'm a very busy woman, you know." She kicked off her flip-flops and pulled the boots over her bare feet. They were so tall that they went up past her knees. "Now how did that go again? Oh, right." She clicked her heels together three times. "I wish I was home! I wish I was home! I wish I was home!"

Nothing happened. Yoruichi, Yachiru, and the rest of the munchkins stared at her. A bird chirped somewhere nearby. Orihime stared down at the boots. "Oh! Silly me, they aren't red!" She hesitated, turning to the bloody body. "Should I… dip them in it?"

"Those boots aren't going to take you home no matter what you do to them," Yoruichi informed her. "And please, don't. That's disgusting."

"I guess they have to be ruby slippers, huh?"

"No, that won't get you home either," the cat replied.

Orihime looked back and forth between her pet and the munchkins, who were all squirming and chattering excitedly and prodding what was left of Nnoitra's body with candy canes. "Wait, then… how do we get back to America? Unless we are in America; Dorothy-sama's tornado struck in Kansas and it turned out she was there the entire time." No ruby slippers? Had she actually perished in the tornado, and this was her personal after life? Would she be following the yellow brick road for the rest of eternity? Then something else occurred to her. "How does Yoruichi-san know so much about Oz?"

"Fiesta!" one of the munchkins cried.

"Fiesta!" another one agreed, and suddenly they were all repeating the word and running back to their homes. Yachiru tugged on the hem of Orihime's shirt.

"Come with us!" she said, motioning for Yoruichi to join them as well. "There will be plenty of time for questions after we celebrate our liberation!"

"Uh, okay," Orihime said, though she wasn't entirely sure she should. Something wasn't right here. Toto had never hidden anything from Dorothy, but he couldn't talk, either. She eyed Yoruichi curiously. Who _was _that cat?

At the edge of the forest bordering the munchkin territory, a lone figure stood watching the scene unfold. A pair of sharp eyes observed the strange machine under which Nnoitra's body lay, then slid slowly over to the tall, out-of-place girl being danced around by joyful munchkins. Lord Aizen was definitely going to want to hear about this.

…

Orihime had danced until her feet refused to keep her up, then ate herself sick. To her relief, the munchkins weren't cannibals. They merely found their candy to be quite versatile. It was late afternoon by the time the party had finally ended, and she was glad for some time away from the inquisitive natives. They had asked her all sorts of questions ranging from what her car was to where "America" and "Japan" could possibly be in the Land of Oz. She was also a bit disappointed to learn that the majority of them were tone deaf and none of them knew what a guild was.

Yachiru let them stay in their leader Kenpachi's hut, as it was the only one big enough to accommodate a full-sized person. But judging by the height of the doorways, Kenpachi must have been something of a giant himself. Orihime had just finished bringing in her luggage from the convertible when there was suddenly a commotion outside. "What now?" she muttered as she looked out the window.

In the center of the plaza, a glowing orb landed on the raised platform used for town meetings. Orihime left the hut, wincing a bit as the glow brightened, then reshaped into the form of a human. When it was all said and done, she and the munchkins were staring at a very familiar face. "Rukia-chan?"

Rukia Kuchiki, one of her more serious high school friends, looked up at Orihime at the sound of her name. It was the same Rukia: black hair, somber dark eyes… only there was no trace of recognition in them whatsoever. She frowned. "Have we met?"

"Oh, wait, I forgot. This is Oz." Orihime smiled sheepishly. "Never mind! You looked like someone I knew."

"Ah, very well then." Rukia stepped down from the platform, patting several squirming munchkins on the head. "Sorry I'm late. The battle at Glennacre Valley is taking much longer than expected. Both sides are ordered to cease fire at sunset, so, here I am finally." She reached into her shirt and withdrew an envelope which she presented to Yachiru. "From Kenpachi, with love."

Yachiru squealed and hugged the letter tightly, then took Rukia's hand. "The body is right this way."

Orihime felt something rub against her leg and looked down. Yoruichi had situated herself there as she often did back at home. Since the cat seemed to know so much, she decided to address her. "What's Rukia-chan doing in Oz?"

"I thought you said you'd seen this movie before," Yoruichi replied, licking her paw and rubbing it over her ear.

Orihime watched as Rukia leaned down to examine the body. She blushed in embarrassment when she heard Rukia ask Yachiru why Nnoitra's boots had been removed. "She must be the Good Witch of the North, huh?"

"Indeed I am."

"Whoa!" Rukia had appeared right next to her.

"And what do I call you?" she asked, extending her hand for Orihime to shake.

"My name is Orihime Inoue. My friends call me Hime, like a princess!"

"What sort of strange language do your friends speak?" Rukia wrinkled her nose, then shrugged dismissively. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. The prophecy mentioned that the Promised Child would be from a far off land," she said casually, reaching into her sleeve and withdrawing a slender stick. Waving it once or twice, she pointed the end at Nnoitra's body and it vanished. The munchkins cheered.

Rukia nodded with satisfaction and put the stick – a magic wand, Orihime guessed – back into her sleeve. This gave Orihime enough time to recap what she had just said. "What prophecy?"

Once again, everybody went silent. Rukia glared down at Yoruichi. "You haven't told her? What have you been doing all day?"

"Partying, relaxing. You should try it some time," Yoruichi quipped.

"Well, _excuse me_! Some of us are out on the front lines, risking our lives on the daily for the good of the kingdom! We can't all have the cushy task of babysitting the Promised Child!"

"Promised Child?" Orihime's hands fluttered helplessly.

Rukia pointed near her own temple. "Your weapons."

Confused, Orihime reached up and pat her hair. Nothing there but the flower hair clips she had received as a birthday present alongside Yoruichi. "These aren't…"

"Furthermore, if she doesn't know about the prophecy or the fact that she's the Promised Child, why did you bring her to Oz?" Rukia demanded.

"We were running out of time! Also, a little bit of an unforeseen problem on Earth: _Cats can't talk._"

"Excuse me!" Orihime butted in loudly, drawing their attention. "Can somebody please tell me what's going on here?" Her head and stomach hurt, and quite frankly, she wasn't sure if she wanted an explanation. This was all starting to sound like way too much work for somebody who had to be in Arizona by the next evening. But as long as she was stuck in Oz, she figured might as well catch up with the local happenings.

Rukia sighed, rubbing her temples. "Very well. Let's continue this discussion inside the hut, shall we? The warlock's spies come with the moon." She started for the hut without another word. Orihime, Yoruichi and Yachiru followed, bidding the other munchkins good night as they passed.

Once they were safely inside, Rukia pointed at Yoruichi. "Why don't you start?"

"Yachiru wants to tell the story!" The pink-haired girl waved her hand eagerly. Rukia and Yoruichi shrugged. Orihime lowered herself into an armchair that was far too big for her, sinking into the sagging middle of the cushion. "Well, it all began several years ago when Yachiru was much, much littler! She and Ken-chan were celebrating a successful candy corn harvest with the other munchkins when we received word that the evil warlock Sousuke Aizen had declared war on Oz! It was a very frightening time. Everybody knows that Aizen trained under The Great Wizard himself!"

Yoruichi snorted. Orihime looked at her curiously.

"Ken-chan was called to battle, as were several other village leaders and magic-users working for the good of the kingdom. But Aizen is powerful… many have died in the time since the war has started. Even the Good Witch of the South has disappeared."

"Unfortunately, we all saw this coming," Yoruichi continued. "There has been a prophecy passed down from generation to generation throughout Oz; that when an evil warlock threatened the safety of our world, the Promised Child would come out of a far off land and, using a strange ability granted by the Six-Petal Flowers, would vanquish the enemy."

Orihime held up her hand. "So Yoruichi-san is from Oz?"

"That's correct." Yoruichi sounded apologetic. "You see, knowing of the prophecy, Aizen went to great lengths to prevent it from coming to pass. He hunted down and destroyed every Six-Petal Flower in Oz, except for two, which were saved by The Great Wizard and converted into the clips currently adorning your hair." She bowed her head. "He then sent me in the form of a cat to find the Promised Child and ready them for battle. But, for being so powerful, The Great Wizard is a bit of a moron. He didn't realize that cats can't talk on Earth."

"That does sound like a bit of a problem." Orihime nodded in agreement. "Also, what would he have done if the Promised Child was a boy? I couldn't picture my friends, Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun, agreeing to wear flower-shaped hair clips for the good of… well, anything."

"I tried to tell him that," Yoruichi sighed, "but he insisted that the Promised Child would be a woman. He claimed that he could feel it in his loins."

"The Great Wizard sounds like a pervert," Orihime said.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "You don't know the half of it. He keeps making clones of me for his experiments! One of them must have wound up on Earth, seeing as you mistook me for one of your friends."

"So, let me see if I got this right," Orihime pieced together what they had been telling her so far, "you came to Earth to find me, but when you did, you couldn't convey your urgent message because cats can't speak." She pointed to her hair clips. "These things are weapons." She pointed to Yoruichi. "So that must mean that you aren't really a cat."

"I'm not, but that's beside the point."

Rukia folded her arms over her chest. "Look, Orihime, we need to start preparing you for war. You must master your ability over the Six-Petal Flowers and confront the warlock Aizen in a battle to the death."

"What?" Orihime stood up. "No!" She was surprised by her own vehemence. "I'm sorry. This whole war thing sucks and all, but it's really not my problem." She looked at Yoruichi, Rukia and Yachiru. "I have to get home. My brother is going to be worried sick, and I have hotel reservations and apartments to look for."

"And just how do you plan on getting out of Oz?" Yoruichi asked her.

Orihime hesitated. How _was _she going to get back to America? It was apparent that nobody here was going to take her there. Her convertible was busted, though she was fairly sure that driving wouldn't get her anywhere. "I'll ask The Great Wizard," she said decisively. "He lives in the Emerald City, right? Down the yellow brick road?"

"I thought you said she's never been here before," Rukia whispered to Yoruichi.

"It's a long story," the cat replied.

"Now if you'll all excuse me, I'm going to bed." Orihime strode into the adjoining room and closed the door behind her. Unfortunately, she realized too late that she had never slept in a man's bed before. Out of sheer embarrassment, she stripped the bed of its comforter and laid it out on the floor, settling on top of it and throwing the blanket over her. She sighed as she snuggled into the pillow, her mind plagued by everything she had learned.

Tomorrow she would set out for the Emerald City. Maybe if she was lucky she could find a nice scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion to travel with. Surely they wouldn't ask her to throw herself into a war that was none of her business.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Nel

**A/N: **_To answer a question or two_**: **No, there won't be a tin man, a scarecrow and a lion, in case you were wondering. I'd never embarrass the characters _that _much. But there will be someone lacking a heart, someone lacking a brain, and someone lacking courage! We will meet one of them today.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Nel**

Situated atop Mount Oz, the land's highest peak, nestled among snow and ice and treacherous cliffs, the warlock Aizen sat on his throne and gazed out at what was soon to be his kingdom. From that perch he could see the columns of smoke rising up from the battlefield at Glennacre Valley. No doubt many brave Emerald City soldiers under the command of The Great Wizard himself were down there, giving their lives in a futile attempt to stop his loyal Espada from advancing. But Aizen's creations – some inhuman, some modified from broken human bodies – were not to be defeated.

In front of him, he saw the battle much better on his crystal ball. Bodies littered the ground. The forces of Oz had been decimated, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be able to declare an official victory. Focusing his sight on the army's proud general, Byakuya Kuchiki, Aizen held his hand over the crystal ball. With a crackle and pop of electricity, he smirked as a shower of icicles fell on the battlefield, several of them striking the general, one in particular going straight through his gut. The winded general collapsed, leaning heavily against his sword. "That ought to take care of that," Aizen murmured, casting a look to his right. "Wouldn't you agree, Hinamori?"

The timid, black-haired girl shrunk away from him before nodding slowly, tears in her eyes. She was unable to move, heavy chains wrapped around her ankles that were only taken away when Aizen politely asked her to get him something to eat. He hated it when she cried, so she made an effort to swallow her tears. Having come from a poor family, she was happy when she had been sent to marry a powerful warlock. With neat brown hair, glasses and a humble smile, who could have guessed that the man was completely insane from his kind and gentle demeanor? Had she known, she would have stayed home, followed her heart and married her true love, who had since become a military general.

"Lord Aizen," the two looked back towards the chamber's wooden door. A tall, black-haired man with ghostly white skin and vivid green eyes walked a few steps forward, then bowed respectfully.

"Ah, Ulquiorra," Aizen stood from his chair, the scene on the crystal ball hidden by a dense fog as he moved away from it. "Have you found Nnoitra? I need him for our next battle."

Ulquiorra Cifer, while not Aizen's most powerful general, was without a doubt his most faithful. He had never once disappointed his Master; something perhaps attributed to his lack of a heart. Aizen was quite pleased with his creation. Here stood a man not tied to the world of Oz, with no pesky emotions to hinder him from his duties. But today, Ulquiorra had bad news to deliver. "Nnoitra is dead, my lord."

Aizen blinked slowly. "Dead?" He spoke the word as if it were foreign to him, as if he couldn't quite believe that one of his perfect generals could fall. "What do you mean, dead?"

"He is no longer among the living," Ulquiorra rearticulated.

"I know that, I meant _how_."

A normal person would have been shaking in their boots by then, utterly terrified at the eerie calm of Aizen's tone. He was always calm, but this mood of his seemed much more sinister, entirely unpredictable. Fortunately, Ulquiorra was not burdened by fear. "He was crushed to death by a strange contraption. However, if I may be so rude as to say so, the contraption is not the important part."

"Is that so?"

Wordlessly, Ulquiorra reached up with two black-nailed fingers and plucked out his eye. From the corner of the room, Hinamori whimpered, feeling faint. What a ghastly thing, this man was! Had he not felt any pain? Ulquiorra crushed the eye in his fist, a scattering a black dust blowing in the air to settle upon Aizen's crystal ball. The warlock turned his attention back to it as an orange-haired girl appeared in the fog, smiling and laughing among a multitude of munchkins, a black cat, and… "Rukia Kuchiki, the Good Witch of the North." He smirked. "She looks confident. I wonder how long that will last upon receiving news of her brother's death." Aizen turned and gazed at Ulquiorra. "Now then, why is this girl important?"

"Look closer, my lord."

His sharp brown eyes focused on the crystal ball once more. He scrutinized the cheerful girl, from the fiery color of her hair, the strange attire she wore, and her disproportionate chest. Then he saw them: the pins in her hair, light blue in color, shaped like flowers with six petals. "Oh my," He smirked. "It would appear that the Promised Child is upon us."

Hinamori's eyes widened, her heartbeat accelerating. The Promised Child was in Oz? The war would end, Aizen would be defeated and peace would finally return to the land? Her hands clenched into fists on her lap. If that were the case, she would have to do her best to stay alive so that she could return home once she was liberated. Her eyes fluttered shut, the image of a white-haired youth being conjured up by her mind. "_Wait for me, Shiro-chan…"_

…

The munchkins liked to wake up early. Orihime did not. She rolled over onto her stomach with a groan, grabbing her borrowed pillow and pulling it over her head. Sunlight streamed in through the round window she had forgotten to close the night before, and from outside she could hear the merry munchkins going about their daily lives. She had to remember that, despite their childlike appearance, many of the villagers were older than she was, and they had families to sustain. It was like living in the downtown area of any major city.

After ten minutes of unsuccessfully attempting to return to dreamland, Orihime sluggishly got off of the floor and leaned over to fold Kenpachi's sheets neatly. Her back was stiff and sore, shoulders popping when she hoisted the comforter onto the bed. "Oww," she hissed, cringing. She felt like an old lady!

"Good morning, Orihime." The voice surprised her, and she turned to find Yoruichi at the door, the tip of her tail twitching inquisitively. "Did you sleep well?"

"I've slept better," Orihime confessed. They shared an awkward silence. Things must have still been tense from yesterday, but Orihime wasn't about to change her mind, even if her cat resented her for it. She was going home, and that was that. "How about you?"

Yoruichi laughed. "I've also slept better."

After cleaning up the room a bit, Orihime got a change of clothes from her suitcase and went into the bathroom for a shower. From watching the movie, she never would have thought that the people of Oz had such modern conveniences. Indoor plumbing, warm running water, and even electricity were things that every munchkin hut had been equipped with. Secretly, she was glad. Bathing in a cold river would not have made for a good morning.

The hot shower was like heaven on Orihime's sore muscles. It cheered her instantly, bringing her thoughts to the adventure ahead. She hadn't seen the Emerald City the day before, so it must have been quite far. She'd also overheard Yoruichi and Rukia arguing that the yellow brick road would take Orihime too close to the battle at Glennacre Valley for comfort. Her anxiety spiked a bit. She couldn't forget that, as happy a place as Oz looked, they were still in the midst of war. If she wasn't careful, she would end up caught in the cannon-fire.

Orihime cut the water and dried herself off, then slipped into clean clothes and emerged from the bathroom. There was another commotion outside; something was happening. She sighed and quickly pulled on her shoes. When _weren't _things happening lately?

Outside, three regally dressed men sat atop armor-clad horses. One held onto the reigns of a fourth horse, whose rider was standing in front of Rukia, bowed at the waist. It was immediately apparent to Orihime that the witch was distressed. "Is he okay?" she was asking, her voice at a slightly hysterical pitch. "Please, tell me he's alright!"

"The medical team is doing everything they can, Ms. Kuchiki, but he suffered a terrible blow. The warlock Aizen must have been watching the battle carefully."

"Damn him!" Rukia cried, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Orihime approached cautiously, standing beside Yachiru, whose perpetually cheerful expression had turned into a grave one. "What's going on?" she whispered.

"The Good Witch's older brother, General Byakuya Kuchiki, suffered a critical injury at the Battle of Glennacre Valley. It ended this morning, Aizen's victory," Yachiru answered quietly. "It looks like the odds aren't too good for General Kuchiki's recovery."

"I knew I should have gone back before sunrise," Rukia muttered, having drawn her wand from her sleeve, wiping away stubborn tears. "I'll go there immediately."

The armored messenger held out his hand. "Please wait, Ms. Good Witch. It is dangerous for you to travel alone, magically or otherwise. The warlock Aizen may very well be waiting to strike you down as well."

"Let him try!" Rukia shouted vehemently.

"Wait! He's right." Yoruichi stepped between the witch and the soldier. "It's too dangerous to go alone." She then looked at Orihime. "The relief area is only a day or two's walk from this village. We should get there simply by following the yellow brick road. Do you mind if we stop there, Orihime?"

"You mean you're letting me go home?"

Yoruichi lowered her head. "We can't force you to fight with us, so the least we can do is accompany you to the Emerald City."

The messenger looked at Orihime, curious. Her clothes were so strange… He gasped as his gaze landed on the flower-shaped clips in her hair. "T-T-The Promised Child!" he cried, dropping to his knees. Similarly, the other three soldiers quickly slid off of their horses and fell to their knees, bowing their heads. Orihime took a step backwards.

"W-Wait a minute! Please don't do that!" she cried.

"The Hero of Oz has come to save us at last!" the messenger yelled joyfully, to which the munchkins cheered. "It's a miracle!"

"I… no, please… oh, never mind," Orihime sighed, resigning herself to their praise. All this attention was only making the guilt stab her heart more viciously. She wasn't a hero! She was just a busy girl, desperately needing to return home. How was she supposed to save an entire world? She couldn't even win the video games that she'd played at her friends' houses! Some savior she would be.

Rukia looked at Orihime gratefully. "Thank you," she said honestly, taking the taller girl's hands in her own. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You don't need to do that," Orihime insisted.

"Well then, we should leave immediately." Yoruichi dismissed the messengers and joined the two. "We don't know how fast Byakuya's condition could deteriorate. Not to mention whether or not Aizen has learned of Orihime's existence in Oz." She rubbed up against Orihime's leg. "Get whatever you can carry without trouble. We can leave the rest of your things here in Munchkinland and have them sent for later."

"Oh, umm… sure." Orihime turned to run back into the hut when, all of the sudden, a small voice cried out from among the munchkins.

"Wait!" A little girl with short, sea-green hair and large, emerald green eyes with a jagged scar running between them separated from the crowd. She wore a jade green dress that was a little too long for her, which caused her foot to snag, sending her sprawling out onto the ground. Orihime gasped and ran to the munchkin, helping her up. The girl whimpered. "Wait, please…" Tears sprang to her eyes, shimmering in the morning sunlight. "Miss Orihime," she spoke with a slight lisp, "please take me with you!"

…

The girl's name was Nel, and according to Yachiru, she had appeared seeking refuge at the village shortly before Nnoitra had started tormenting them. Other than her name, the girl had no memories of her past. She had no idea who she was, where she had come from, or why Nnoitra had been chasing her. The day that Orihime had crushed the man with her car, Nel had been considering giving herself up so that the other munchkins would be left alone.

"That's so sad!" Orihime cried, hugging the girl tightly as they sat inside Kenpachi's hut. "You poor, poor thing!" She pulled away to smooth Nel's hair down. "But, you know, it's safe here now. You don't have to come along to the Emerald City."

Nel shook her head furiously. "I do!" she said, clutching her dress. "I want to ask The Great Wizard if he can give me courage, so that next time I'm being chased, I won't run away and burden others like a coward." Her eyes filled with tears again. "I don't ever want to cause anyone else trouble!"

Orihime looked up at Rukia with a jutting lower lip. The black-haired woman cringed. "I-It's up to you, Hime."

Satisfied, Orihime smiled at Nel. "Well then, it looks like you're coming to the Emerald City with me! But it's supposed to be dangerous, so you have to be careful, okay?"

"I will, I promise!" Nel wrapped her tiny, chubby arms around Orihime's neck. "Nel may not know much about herself, but she knows a lot about Oz!"

"That's great! I know a lot about myself, but nothing about Oz!" Orihime said, unable to get over how adorable Nel was. She was like the little sister she'd always wanted, despite the lack of family resemblance. Maybe if she asked nicely she would be allowed to take Nel home with her.

While Orihime finished packing, Rukia conjured up a map of Oz and laid it out on the kitchen table. The map's most prominent feature was the yellow brick road, which stretched to all corners of the world and came together at the Emerald City. "The relief area is here," Rukia said, drawing a circle around a small town called Yawn. "It's a little out of the way, but it doesn't take long to get back to the road from there."

"And how long do you think it'll take us to get to the Emerald City from Yawn?" Yoruichi asked.

"That depends." Rukia crossed her arms and frowned. "If you're lucky enough to get a straight shot, it should only take two weeks. But if any battles break out along the way, it could take close to a month." She sighed. "I wish I could go with you, but I'm needed back on the battlefield, especially with my brother in his current state."

"Don't you worry about us, Rukia. Orihime may not know how to use those hair clips yet, but I have faith in her," Yoruichi said. "Though I wish I had my human form. That idiot wizard should have left me with the means to convert back."

Rukia grinned. "He doesn't trust you, does he?"

"He has no reason to."

"I'm ready!" Orihime called out as she emerged from the bedroom carrying an overstuffed backpack. "Two changes of clothes, some food stuffs and survival gear. I think I'm good to go!" After years of camping trips with her older brother, she had learned to pack only the essentials in case she would be facing life-or-death situations. It would be much easier to escape that way. She looked down at Nel, who sat patiently in Kenpachi's enormous chair. "Weren't you going to pack anything?"

Nel shook her head. "I don't own anything but the clothes on my back!"

"Aww!" Orihime picked her up and squeezed her in a tight embrace. "I'll tell you what, if I somehow manage to find some Oz currency, I'll buy you an adorable outfit, okay?"

Rukia rolled up the map and flattened it between both hands. The map disappeared. "Alright! If that's everything, let's get go…" She trailed off, then suddenly brandished her wand and fired a bright beam towards the ceiling. It collided against an invisible force, sending a spray of magic in every direction. Orihime and Nel ducked behind Kenpachi's chair.

"What was _that_?" Orihime cried as an ornate symbol on the ceiling above flashed an angry crimson once, then disintegrated.

"That was the warlock Aizen's magic." Rukia scowled. "He's watching us."

…

In his fortress atop Mount Oz, Aizen chuckled as his crystal ball temporarily went black. "Ah, I should have known. The Good Witch of the North is quite perceptive." He drew a few magic symbols into the air and placed them around the crystal ball. "What a spell! I won't be able to see much, at least for the next few hours." His hawk-like gaze landed on Hinamori, sending a chill down her spine. "Would you be a dear and summon Grimmjow for me? I have a job for him."

In the blink of an eye, the chains around Hinamori's ankles disappeared. She stood shakily, stumbling the first few steps. It had been a while since she had walked. "Yes, my lord and husband."

Aizen smirked and waved his hand. Hinamori was lifted to her feet by a sudden wind. "Come now, my dear. Don't look so pathetic. It makes me sad."

"Yes, my lord," she murmured, placing her hands on the grimy stone wall to keep herself upright as she made her way out of the chamber. Had she not been so desperate to return home, she would have thrown herself from the window and plummeted to her death a long time ago. But for now, she would have to make do with serving her husband without question.

Aizen's viewing chamber was at the top of a tall spire with a winding staircase that bordered a dark, gaping chasm. It was freezing in there, the cold of the surrounding snow-capped mountains seeping in through the cracks in the walls, and Hinamori had to walk carefully to avoid slipping on the occasional patch of ice. Once she reached the bottom, a long, torch-lit corridor stretched off in either direction. These were the Espada's quarters, so she moved about quietly, even though more than half of them were empty, their residents off fighting Oz military generals, good witches and warlocks.

Approaching a door with the number six drawn on it in black paint, Hinamori lifted her hand and knocked timidly. She was utterly terrified of Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, one of Aizen's formerly human generals who was well known for being absolutely psychotic on the battlefield. She'd heard a rumor among Aizen's other soldiers that Grimmjow had been especially moody as of late, and those who had asked him about it had been mercilessly killed. "Umm… Mr. Jaegerjaques, Lord Aizen requests your presence in the viewing chamber."

"Tell him I'm busy!" the gruff voice on the other end answered.

Hinamori swallowed her trepidation and pressed on. "He says he has a job for you."

Silence, then she heard the lock click and stepped back as the wooden door creaked open. Towering above her, Grimmjow stood with hands in his pockets, his blue green eyes narrowed at Hinamori. She trembled in his presence, which he found amusing. "A job, huh?" He grinned maniacally. "Sure. I could use a few Oz soldiers to take out my frustration on."

**To Be Continued**


	4. The Warrior's Reprieve

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**The Warrior's Reprieve**

Orihime would have never thought of herself as squeamish until she set foot in Yawn. A town made for humans, the buildings here were all big enough to accommodate her, so she was sure she wouldn't have to worry about sleeping in a giant's bed tonight. However, as she took in the sight around her, she wasn't sure she would be able to get to sleep at all. Homes had been converted into hospital wards for the hundreds of injured soldiers that had survived the trip from the battlefield at Glennacre Valley. Men, women and children alike ran about frantically gathering extra blankets, pillows, towels and medical supplies to make their guests more comfortable.

A small hand gripped Orihime's, tearing her horrified gaze away from a man whose nearly severed arm was being tended to by a healer."Are you okay, Orihime?" Nel's green eyes were wide with concern. Wasn't she at all affected by the surrounding sights and sounds? Perhaps in times of war, even the children had seen more than they should have.

"I think so," Orihime replied, forcing herself to smile for the little girl. She felt extremely nauseous, but she made a conscious decision that she wouldn't faint until they arrived at their destination. Besides, Rukia and Yoruichi seemed to know exactly where they were going.

"The Good Witch of the North approaches!" a soldier called to another behind him, who then ran ahead into a large manor at the end of the road. Before long, the manor door swung open and a man with blazing red hair – a high ranking soldier, Orihime guessed by the amount of medals and ornaments on his tattered uniform – emerged from within. He limped a little, his left arm tucked securely into a sling, his right rising to salute them.

"Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, Renji Abarai!" he announced himself.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Does Byakuya really have you doing that, even for me?" She crossed her arms huffily. "Come on, Renji. We've been friends for years. What happened to your arm?"

"I was injured in the line of duty, valiantly fighting for my country!" he answered just as seriously.

"He was injured," a deep voice interjected, "running away and leaving his General for dead." Standing in the doorway was General Byakuya Kuchiki, leaning heavily to one side with a grimace. His lengthy black hair was down, uniform coat draped over his shoulders, and his entire abdomen was bandaged neatly. "Don't believe a word this idiot says," he growled through clenched teeth.

Rukia pushed Renji aside and ran forward, slipping underneath her brother's arm to help support him. Orihime blinked in surprise; the only family resemblance she noted was their unfortunately somber countenance. "What are you doing out of bed? You're going to tear that wound wide open!" Rukia was scolding him unabashedly, in front of the entire village and his soldiers. "I have half a mind to rip it open myself, just to teach you a lesson! Come on!" She helped him turn and they started into the manor.

Yoruichi looked back at Orihime and Nel. "Come along." She paused next to Renji, her tail twitching. "Say, is the Great Idiot of Oz around?"

"The Wizard? No, he left in pursuit of Aizen's generals after casting a spell to get us here safely," Renji confessed, slipping a hand into his coat and feeling along the inside. "However," he withdrew a small vial containing a mysterious pink liquid, "he told me to give this to you, General Shihoin."

"Freaking finally!" Yoruichi cried, opening her mouth for Renji to put the vial into.

Orihime felt her dizziness increasing. "W-Wait… Yoruichi-san is a general? And she has a last name?"

Renji looked at her. "Who's this? Does she have military clearance?"

Nel puffed out her chest proudly. "Orihime is the Promised Child," she cried, "and my name is Nel!"

Orihime chose that precise moment to double over and vomit. Nel squealed in surprise and ran for cover, away from the splatter. Yoruichi heaved a sigh and continued toward the manor, muttering a muffled question about milk. Renji ran to assist Orihime, who was swaying unsteadily on her feet. _This _was supposed to be the Promised Child? He suddenly had a very bad feeling about Oz's future.

…

Grimmjow Jaegerjaques stood in the middle of a dense wood, hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks. He looked to his left; nothing but trees. He looked to his right; same. Nothing but trees, birds, bugs and adorable furry creatures that twitched their noses at him like they had to sneeze. It was quiet, serene, a nature lover's paradise. Grimmjow did not love nature.

He stood amongst the trees and the critters, taking in a deep breath of earthy smells and releasing it in a long sigh. "Yep," he nodded once, twice, three times, "I'm lost as fuck."

…

Upon hearing the news of the Promised Child's arrival in Yawn, many curious soldiers and villagers went out of their ways to pass the manor and hopefully catch a glimpse of Orihime, who lay in a spare bed with a damp cloth pressed against her eyes. She groaned miserably, making a mental note to never eat gas station pastries for breakfast again. No, that wasn't fair to her Mexican attendant. The pastries probably would have digested happily had she not been dragged through a town of maimed, bleeding infantrymen.

Despite his stoic demeanor, Byakuya was awkwardly friendly. He carried an air of superiority about him which Renji said resulted from his upbringing as the son of a noble family. Along those lines, Yoruichi was also the daughter of a noble family, who had fallen out of favor with her relatives after running off to become The Great Wizard's apprentice.

"I can't believe I've been feeding cat food to a princess!" Orihime cried in dismay, absently playing with Nel's hair as the munchkin devoured one of the plastic-wrapped cinnamon rolls they had brought along.

"I'm not a princess," Yoruichi said, watching eagerly as Rukia poured the contents of the glass vial into a saucer of milk and stirred it together with her wand. "Besides, having been in the form of a cat, feeding me anything else could have made me ill."

Byakuya suddenly cleared his throat, wincing a bit. "Do I really have to be here for this?"

"For what?" Orihime looked around. "I missed something again."

Yoruichi's sharp canines glinted in what appeared to be a grin. "Just watch," she said, her excitement apparent by the rapid twitch of her tail. Once Rukia had finished mixing the pink liquid into the milk, she set it down in front of Yoruichi, who immediately went to work on drinking it. Byakuya let out an irritated sigh and turned his head to stare at the wall.

"I thought somebody would be healing me by now," he grunted.

"Oh! Right." Rukia wiped milk off of her wand and began weaving invisible symbols into the air. "This will get the job done, though not completely. The flesh will still be a little tender, so try not to move so much, please?"

Orihime would have watched the healing take place had her eyes not been glued to the transformation occurring in Yoruichi. Her feline frame elongated, bones audibly snapping and rearranging. Her ears relocated to the sides of her head, her whiskers becoming eyebrows and lashes, her tail changing into a long, violet ponytail. The black fur melted away, leaving behind dark, naked skin. Before Orihime knew it, her cat had grown into a voluptuous, exotic-looking woman who traced the inside of the saucer with a perfectly manicured fingernail and popped it into her mouth. "Delicious!" the woman sighed dreamily.

"Y-Yoruichi-san…?" Orihime said tentatively.

She may not have been a black cat anymore, but her golden eyes were still the same as she turned to smile at her mistress. "In the flesh!"

Orihime pointed at her. "You're naked."

Renji snorted and snickered. Nel licked cinnamon off of her fingers. Byakuya pulled himself up carefully and walked out of the room. Rukia decided to break the silence. "Why, yes she is! Let me conjure up something more appropriate for you, Yoruichi."

"Your boobs are bigger than mine!" Orihime complained.

Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "We can compare our assets later. There are more serious things to discuss at the moment," she said, ignoring the variety of clothing that appeared on her body, changing color and shape every few seconds before settling on a black one-piece suit with an orange jacket over it. "For example, we need to map out the safest course to the Emerald City. We were lucky to have not been attacked so far."

"Attacked…" Orihime suddenly remembered the situation she was in and sighed. "I don't want to be attacked! Can't I just tell the warlock Aizen that I mean him no harm, that I'm just passing through on my way home?"

"You could, but chances are that he won't believe you." Yoruichi stretched her human limbs, wiggling her fingers and toes. "Why should he? Your very existence threatens his plans."

"I'm no threat! I can't even use these thingamajigs…" Orihime reached up to readjust the hair clips. She could hardly grow a tomato plant. How was she supposed to draw magic out of a flower? "I mean, what do these hair clips even _do_?" Come to think of it, nobody had told her that yet. All they'd said was that the clips were weapons.

Yoruichi shrugged. "Nobody knows for certain – not even The Great Moron himself." She leaned back on her palms and crossed her legs at the ankles. "Originally, the pollen of the Six-Petal Flower was rumored to have the ability to heal any ailment. And in addition to that, the flowers themselves were said to control time because they never wilted or grew old. As soon as they started to, they would reverse the flow of time until they were young and luminous again. Of course, there was no way to prove it. Every witch and wizard who managed to get their hands on them couldn't figure out how the flower altered time."

Orihime fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "If _they _couldn't…"

"Hey, don't be so down on yourself! According to the prophecy, the Promised Child and the flowers would have a special relationship. But, like all authentic prophecies, it didn't specify." Yoruichi stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make sure I haven't gotten rusty."

"Rusty with… where did she go?" Orihime blinked, suddenly finding the space where Yoruichi had been empty.

Rukia laughed and patted her shoulder sympathetically. "I know it's a lot to wrap your brain around. Then again, you're going home so I guess it's nothing you should worry about for too long." She smiled sadly. "I only wish that I could accompany the three of you to the Emerald City."

Renji tentatively scratched at his injured arm. "Hey, you make it sound like traveling with us is a bad thing," he muttered with a dejected pout.

"Okay, it has its perks." Rukia leaned over and tapped his left arm with her index finger. "There, you big baby. Don't you dare run off on Byakuya again. He needs you," she said, then grinned proudly and winked conspiratorially. "Not that he'll be joining us for the next battle. I had the higher ups order him to sit this one out, so Renji, you're going to be in charge!"

The blood drained from Renji's face. "_What_?"

"Don't complain! Weren't you just dying to prove your superiority? Well, now's your chance!"

Orihime smiled watching the two of them interact. It reminded her a lot of how _her _Rukia acted around Ichigo back home. She blinked as the realization dawned on her. Were _this _Rukia and Renji seeing each other? She pursed her lips together, deciding not to ask. They weren't being openly affectionate, so if they did have something going on, it was probably a secret.

Nel looked up from where she had been dozing off on the floor. "So Orihime, if you can use the Six-Petal Flowers, does that make you a magician too?"

"You know, I never really thought about it like that."

Having heard this, Rukia looked away from where she had been drawing on Renji's face with her wand. He suddenly sprouted a bushy black mustache. "If that's the case, maybe Aizen won't want to kill you after all."

"Why is that?" Orihime tried to smother the panic that had quickly flared up at the thought of being killed. "What is this Aizen guy trying to do?"

"I know!" Nel cried, tugging on her sleeve for attention. "The warlock Aizen believes that humans who can't use magic should be slaves to those who can, like him." She mustered up a serious expression. "And if they are utterly worthless to him, like us munchkins, they should be killed at once!"

"It's true," Rukia said, staring at her wand a bit guiltily. "He's either looking for mass slavery or mass genocide. Either way, it's a pretty bleak future for Oz."

…

"_Grimmjow, where are you_?"

"Quite honestly, I haven't a clue." The sun was setting by the time Aizen came into contact with his wayward assassin. Grimmjow had walked in circles for hours, eventually coming back to a tree stump he had peed next to earlier, and there was no way he was staying there with the stench.

A sigh resounded in his head. "_Don't try my patience, Grimmjow. Find the yellow brick road by tomorrow morning, because I would rather kill you than find it for you._"

Grimmjow winced as the oppressive magic lifted from his body. He hated having Aizen in his brain, violating his thoughts. He may have been his master, but that didn't mean he had to like the guy. In the end, Grimmjow served nobody but himself.

After walking a considerable distance from the soiled tree stump, he stopped and sat down heavily, determined to catch a quick break. He could technically go on without sleep for up to a week, but sleeping was something that he enjoyed. When he didn't get enough of it, he got cranky, and when he got cranky, people died. Heads rolled. Blood spilled.

Feelings were hurt.

"Damn it!" he yelled, firing a beam of energy into the forest that took out a mile-long row of trees. Once his eyes readjusted to the failing light of dusk, he squinted ahead into his path of destruction and caught the sight of something unmistakably yellow. "Huh. It was a lot closer than I thought," he muttered.

Now that he'd found the road, he could get some much needed sleep.

…

Byakuya was not one to sit by idly. Relaxation made him uneasy, he always had to be doing something. This impatience, well hidden by his stoic façade, was always bubbling just beneath his skin. In the days that his wife had lived, he'd felt calmer than he ever had in his entire life, and just as well, he'd become that much more restless when she had died.

"Pouting like a child because little sister had you benched?"

His scowl deepened. Yoruichi sat in his open window, blocking his view of the crescent moon. "I believe I gave specific orders that mongrel were not to be allowed in my quarters."

"As if your guards could ever keep up with me!" Yoruichi laughed, slipping into the room and landing soundlessly. "You must still be plenty naïve to think so." Her bare feet padded across the floor towards him. "How are you feeling?"

Byakuya's dark eyes narrowed at her frostily. "Just fine."

"But," she bent at the waist to tap his nose teasingly, "you could be better." When he gave no response, she lowered herself to the floor, sitting next to him. "Don't be like this, Little Byakuya. You're making me sad. I came all this way to see you – "

"You came all this way to see _him_," Byakuya interrupted her. "Were you disappointed?"

"Now that definitely isn't fair." Yoruichi leaned her head back against the wall. "When I heard that you had been injured in battle, I was…" She stopped herself. "Well, I wasn't much of anything. You can take care of yourself." Her yellow eyes stared at the bright moon through the window. "I mean, here _I _was being coddled for the last five years while you were off being a broken-hearted hero."

"Stop that."

She paused. "Stop what?"

"Pretending you're weaker than you actually are." Byakuya turned enough to grab Yoruichi by the wrist and pull her into his lap. "It really pisses me off," he growled, his lips finding her neck in the darkness.

Yoruichi gasped. "Oh, but I am weak." She combed her fingers through his hair and lowered her head, just barely brushing her lips against his. "So very weak…" Her heart clenched almost painfully in her chest, but she couldn't stop. His kisses dizzied her, excited her, left her trembling for more, and she couldn't find the will to object when he laid her out on the floor, her ponytail undone and his bandaged torso exposed for her wandering hands.

What an idiot that wizard was, giving her the means to change back when he wouldn't be there to receive her.

…

"Goodbye!" Orihime found herself quite teary-eyed the next morning as she waved farewell to Rukia and Renji. "Thank you for everything!"

"Goodbye!" Nel echoed, waving both of her small arms above her head.

"Take care of yourselves, you three!" Rukia shouted back with hands cupped over her mouth. "I'll try to keep as much an eye on you as I can! Give my regards to The Great Wizard when you see him!"

"I will! Don't worry!" Orihime turned away before she could start blubbering, sniffling and instead distracting herself with a question that had been on her mind all morning. "Yoruichi-san, why are you a cat again?"

At her feet, the sour-faced black cat paused for a moment. "Well, Orihime, there are many different kinds of spells: some permanent, some temporary… some with very specific requirements to keep them working," she muttered through clenched teeth. Of course the wizard hadn't left her a note saying that if she wanted to keep her human form, she should refrain from sexual activity. It was just the sort of thing he would do, she thought with a heavy sigh. She betrayed him, he betrayed her. What an interesting relationship they had.

But it was that sort of thing, she hated to admit, that proved he wasn't much of an idiot after all. And it was exactly that sort of thing that had made her run off with him in the first place.

**To Be Continued**


	5. Grimmjow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty**

**Grimmjow**

The yellow brick road was Oz's most famous landmark. Originating from the four corners of Emerald City, the road stretched all over the world, promising to lead any traveler back to the bustling metropolis from which it had started. This would have made things a lot easier for Orihime and her troop if Yoruichi hadn't insisted that they crawl through the forest half the time. "It's just a precautionary measure," she said as they reemerged from the woods flanking the road.

Nel, on the other hand, had been strangely silent for the last ten minutes of the journey. One moment she had been singing with Orihime, the next she had clammed up and started walking a bit faster. "Are you okay, Nel?" Orihime had asked her. "You don't look too good."

"I feel strange," Nel confessed, wrapping her arms around her tiny frame. "I don't like this part of the woods."

Yoruichi frowned, finding it odd that the munchkin was so distraught. This corner of Oz was supposed to be a peaceful one, with nothing but munchkin and human villages that had somehow remained untouched by the war. It was a place that people usually fled to. Why would she be in such a hurry to leave? "Is there something you aren't telling us?" she asked.

Nel stopped a few steps ahead of them. "Wait," she said, holding a hand out to them. The woods were eerily silent. Suddenly, Nel gasped and turned on her heel, tripping over her dress.

"Nel!" Orihime cried, ready to bolt towards the girl.

"Run away!" Nel made frantic shooing motions with both hands. Yoruichi's ears swiveled to the right. A distant rumbling sound caught her attention, and it was getting louder. "Run!" Nel yelled again, only managing to stand before she was blindsided by an enormous beam of energy that sent her flying into the woods.

Orihime screamed in horror. Yoruichi was already throwing her small frame against her legs to get her to move. "Come on!" she yelled, urging her mistress back in the direction from which they had come. "That was a cero! One of Aizen's Espada has found us!"

"But Nel!" Orihime jumped over Yoruichi and began running towards the now burning trees, but she was intercepted before she could get very far. Towering over her was a man with short blue hair and a wicked grin, his blue-green eyes narrowed in delight. Orihime took a step away from him. The look on his face sent chills down her spine. Never in her life had she encountered someone with such an immense bloodlust so ready and open on his expression.

"Hello there, Promised Child," he drawled, reaching out and seizing her neck in his large hand, lifting her into the air. "I've got some rather strict orders to kill you, so how do you want to go? I can make it slow, which would be more enjoyable for me, or I can make it quick, which you would probably prefer."

Orihime tried to speak, but all that came out of her throat was a whimper. She swore she saw her life flashing before her eyes: meeting her best friend Tatsuki in elementary school, losing her first tooth and crying because she thought her mouth was broken, meeting and falling in love with Ichigo Kurosaki, then losing him to Rukia in high school, getting over it and boldly signing herself up to go to America, the bored Mexican attendant who had kindly suggested she ride out the storm at the gas station…

The grip on her neck loosened. She fell onto the yellow brick road, taking in several deep breaths and looking up to see why she'd been freed. "Get off of me!" The white-clad man was swatting at Yoruichi, who had unleashed a flurry of slashes with her claws. "Damn cat!"

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime cried. The man drove his elbow into Yoruichi's gut, sending her sprawling to the ground. Then he turned his attention back to Orihime, smacking her across the face.

"You just had to go and piss me off, huh?" he demanded, yanking her to her feet. "For that, I'll make it slow!"

"Orihime!" Yoruichi leapt at the man again, sinking her claws and teeth into the back of his head. Without letting go of Orihime, he grabbed Yoruichi and threw her against a tree. Her body slammed into the tree's trunk, then fell limp. The man pressed his palm against his hair, wincing. There was a decent amount of blood on his fingers.

"This is why I freaking hate animals," he muttered, pitching forward when Orihime began to struggle, kicking her legs against him uselessly. "What, want me to let you go? Can't do that, girly. It's nothing personal, really, but my master's a bit of a tight ass so if I don't go through with this, he'll either kill me or at least take away most of my Espada membership benefits." His hand reached out and caressed Orihime's bruising cheek. "But look on the bright side! At least you get to die at the hands of someone who will appreciate the sight of your delicious red blood spilling out of your cracked skull."

In a surprising display of defiance, Orihime turned her head and bit the man as hard as she could. Aggravated, he threw her away from him. She hit the road hard, rolling onto her side and coughing as the impact had temporarily winded her. "Please, leave us alone!" she begged him, lifting herself enough to bow her head respectfully. "I don't want to hurt your master! I just want to go home!"

The man sneered. "As if he cares!" He held out his arm. "However, since you're being so polite, I've changed my mind again. You can die quickly." An orb of energy appeared in his palm, churning and brightening before launching itself at Orihime. There was a blinding flash as the cero struck. Then suddenly, it twisted out of shape and began to shrink. The man frowned. "What the hell?"

Orihime had squeezed her eyes shut, holding up her arms in a weak attempt at self-defense, certain that death was coming. But when nothing hit her, she allowed herself to open one eye and see what had happened. Standing in front of her was Nel, mouth wide open and drawing the cero in. Was she _eating it?_ Nel clamped her mouth shut, her cheeks puffed out as if holding in a vast amount of liquid, then she fired the cero back at their assailant, twice as large as it had originally been. The man was consumed by the light, followed by a tremendous explosion that shook the very ground.

"Nel?" Orihime blinked, reaching out for the little girl.

Nel turned around, stumbling a bit, then held up two fingers in a v-for-victory sign. "I'm okay!" she said cheerfully before collapsing in a heap on the road. Orihime scrambled over to her green-haired companion, shaking her gently.

"Hey, wake up!" Tears were gathering in her eyes. Here they had faced their first battle and she'd been able to do nothing but get in the way. Even the cowardly Nel had stood up against that frightening man to defend her. Just as she had thought, she was more of a damsel in distress than the savior of Oz. She scooped the half-conscious Nel into her arms and ran over to where her cat had fallen. "Yoruichi-san?" she called out to her tentatively.

Yoruichi's tail twitched. "Orihime, are you alright?" Her voice was strained and weak. "I'm sorry I couldn't do much in this pathetic body…"

"You did far more than you had to." Orihime choked on a sob, reaching out to rub Yoruichi's ears.

"Aw, what a touching sight!"

Orihime gulped, breaking out into a cold sweat. She turned her head slowly, afraid of what she would see. Sure enough, there was the blue-haired man, looking relatively unscathed save for a bleeding wound on his chest. "That's too bad. I'm still going to have to kill you," he said with a helpless shrug. Nel stirred in Orihime's arms, reviving enough to see him and quickly spring back into action.

"Stop right there you big bully!" she cried, holding out both arms. "If you're gonna hurt Orihime, then you're gonna have to go through me first!" Even as she said this, her entire body was trembling in fear, but she stood her ground.

"Nel, don't!" Orihime sniffled miserably.

But the display of bravado had stopped the man in his tracks. He stared down at Nel, hands in his pockets, a strange look replacing the bloodlust that had once been running rampant on his face."What…?"

"You heard me!" Nel's voice wavered.

Aside from the crackling of burning trees, there was silence. Orihime felt Yoruichi shudder in her arms and looked down. The cat's chest rose and fell unsteadily. "Yoruichi-san?" No response. "Yoruichi-san, no! Please don't die! You can't!" Sobs wracked her body, more tears spilling over onto Yoruichi's black fur. "You can't…"

A warm sensation began to radiate from her temples. For a moment, Orihime thought that she was fainting from the stress, but when she looked up again she saw light in her peripheral vision. Suddenly the hair clips flew from their places, twelve glowing petals circling Yoruichi's body rapidly. Her golden eyes fluttered open, her breathing becoming steadier. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, the twelve petals shot back to their resting places in Orihime's hair.

Yoruichi looked up at Orihime, blinking. "Did you just heal me?"

Now Nel was staring back at her too, her green eyes wide in amazement. "Yoruichi is okay!" she squealed.

Orihime was too stunned to say anything. _Had _she just healed her? All she remembered doing was rejecting the notion that Yoruichi could die so easily, and before she knew it, Yoruichi was fine. She reached up with her free hand and tentatively felt for the hair clips, which were still radiating a comforting warmth. Was this the power of the Six-Petal Flowers?

"Hey!" Yoruichi called out to their attacker, who had turned their back on them and was starting back down the yellow brick road. "Where do you think you're going? You can't just attack us and expect to get off without some serious punishment!"

The man stopped. "Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it? As I recall, you were on your way to animal hell a second ago."

Orihime let Yoruichi down and stood up, taking a cautious step forward. "But you said you had orders to kill us. Won't that warlock guy be angry if you don't?"

A snort. "Screw that! If you can heal people, I'm not going to spend my entire day fighting a rabid cat and a cero-eating munchkin," he growled, looking back at the three of them. "I already got what I came for. You're lucky I'm feeling generous today."

Strangely, Orihime didn't want him to go. If he was letting them leave, he must not have been that bad of a guy… insane, sure, but not bad. Besides, something told her that if he didn't return with her head on a silver platter, _his_ head would serve as the replacement. "W-Wait!" she called out to him, mustering up her most imposing look. "This cat is General Yoruichi Shihoin, and she is placing you under arrest!" She glanced down at Yoruichi and whispered, "You can do that, right?"

The man turned to face her. "Are you serious?"

"Orihime, what are you doing?" Yoruichi hissed.

"That's correct! You are now a prisoner of war! Failure to come along quietly will result in execution by cat and munchkin!" Orihime cried, then whispered to the cat, "If we force him to work for us, we won't get our butts kicked the next time somebody attacks us!"

"We can't trust him!"

"He's letting us go, isn't he?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" the man yelled. Unfortunately, what Orihime meant to use as a bluff was indeed a law, one that even Aizen followed. But if he stayed with them as a prisoner, he would technically be safe from the warlock's wrath. He grinned maniacally. Traveling with three females wasn't exactly his idea of fun, but if it kept him alive, he'd sure as hell do it. He quickly wiped the smile off his face. "Oh, you got me," he said, bowing with exaggerated flourish. "I forfeit the battle, so I forfeit my freedom as well."

Orihime was surprised that it had worked. "Err, right." She assumed her tough demeanor. "What is your name, soldier?"

"I am called Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, ranked number six among Warlock Aizen's private army, the Espada," he answered swiftly. "And might I know the name of the fabled Promised Child?"

"I'm Orihime Inoue!" She hesitated, unsure of whether she should go over and shake his hand. After all, he had fired that enormous cero from his palm. Who was to say that he wouldn't blow her to smithereens the moment she let her guard down? "Umm, I already explained who my cat was, and this is the munchkin, Nel!"

Grimmjow stared down at Nel, who stared back at him with wide, curious green eyes. "What happened to your face, kid?"

Nel instinctively touched the scar that stretched from her forehead to her nose. "I don't know."

"Here's another good question," Yoruichi suddenly turned on the girl, "before I passed out I saw you eat the cero that he launched at Orihime. How did you do it?"

Nel flinched at her demanding tone. "I-I don't know that, either." She clung to Orihime's skirt, hiding behind her for protection. "All I saw was that big sister was in trouble, so I ran in front of her and just… did it. Is Yoruichi mad at me?"

Orihime looked between them helplessly. Yoruichi sighed. "No, I'm not mad," she said, approaching her and letting Nel rub her ears. It had definitely piqued her curiosity, though. Who was this munchkin girl? With an ability like that, her mysterious past had suddenly become a lot more interesting. She looked back at Grimmjow. "Inform that warlock that you have been captured."

Grimmjow was one step ahead of her, already sensing Aizen's magical pressure nearby. He turned towards it and shrugged, saying nothing. It lifted immediately. He would be angry, that much was certain, but if he did anything to Grimmjow now it would violate the carefully noted terms that had been drawn up before the start of the war. Aizen was not allowed to go after his own prisoners; he would have to send somebody else to get Grimmjow back, or else the forces of Oz would descend on his mountain fortress and take it by storm.

"I guess we should keep moving," Orihime said with a shrug.

Now that he was traveling with them, Grimmjow decided to find out where they were headed. "Going somewhere special?"

Orihime nodded. "To the Emerald City, to see The Great Wizard. I have to get back to my own world." She'd been in Oz for four days now. Surely her brother had notified American authorities to the fact that she was missing, and there was probably an international manhunt going on, the likes of which were broadcast on entertainment news shows to enrage the general public. She could imagine reporters swarming the small desert gas station, the last place she had been seen, the owners making a fortune in publicity. But what if they thought that the cashier had kidnapped her? What if they arrested the poor boy, broke his spirit until he wept and confessed to a crime he hadn't committed?

"I'm going to ask The Great Wizard for courage!" Nel said, perhaps not realizing that standing up against Grimmjow had taken guts that she thought she lacked.

"And I'm just here for decoration," Yoruichi grumbled. She didn't want to push Orihime to fight Aizen, but hopefully showing her just how lost Oz was without her would stir the girl's will to go to war. When she saw The Great Wizard, she would beat the tar out of him for leaving her in such a vulnerable state. But at least now they had a powerful ally of sorts to protect them.

…

"So, Grimmjow has been captured, has he? That girl is craftier than I thought," Aizen muttered, stroking his chin as he saw his sixth in command shrug at him. He waved a hand in front of the crystal ball and the image disappeared. "Dearest Momo, inform Luppi that he is getting a promotion. Ah, and send for Ulquiorra as well."

Hinamori, who had been serving him a goblet of wine on a tray, nodded obediently. "Yes, my lord." She took the tray with her, quickly leaving the viewing chamber. She found Ulquiorra walking down the hall, having already been on his way. That man had the uncanny ability to predict when Aizen would need him. "Your presence is requested upstairs," she whispered, not daring to make eye contact.

Ulquiorra didn't acknowledge her as he walked past, climbing the stairs at a leisurely pace. The freezing cold and darkness didn't bother him in the slightest, and he side-stepped every icy patch he came across, having memorized their positions long ago. When he arrived in the viewing chamber, Aizen was swishing the wine around in its goblet, looking completely unbothered. "Grimmjow has failed in his mission to annihilate the Promised Child. Can I count on you to take care of it, Ulquiorra?"

"Always, Master."

Aizen smirked. "Good." He spared his fourth in command a glance. "However, if that girl demonstrates the power of the Six-Petal Flowers at any given moment, you are to immediately report it to me. I might have some use for her, who knows? Depending on her magical ability, she could become my new wife." He tossed back the last of his wine and the goblet disintegrated in his hand. Yes, who needed pathetic humans like Hinamori when there were more suitable women for him? He'd dispose of her later. "Ah, yes, and kill Grimmjow while you're at it. He's used up his three strikes."

Assuming that he was dismissed, Ulquiorra turned and left the viewing chamber. With Grimmjow gone, Luppi would undoubtedly become general in his place. The three generals above Ulquiorra, Coyote Starrk and his lieutenant Lilynette Gingerback, Baraggan Luisenbarn and his harem of soldiers, and the quiet Tia Harribel, were out on the front lines fighting the forces of Oz. The rest of the Espada were gathering information, harassing citizens, and wreaking random havoc elsewhere. Generally, only two or three of them stayed back to protect the fortress, seeing as that was something that Aizen could easily do himself.

Now Ulquiorra had been charged with the important task of removing the Promised Child from existence. Knowing Grimmjow, he had probably staged the whole capture to get out of doing any work. Too bad he was going to have to pay for it with his life.

**To Be Continued**


	6. Ulquiorra

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach, the Wizard of Oz, or any other copyrighted material!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Ulquiorra**

"_Run for your lives!_"

As it turned out, traveling with Grimmjow was a little harder than Orihime originally thought it would be. The very evening of his capture, upon stopping at a town for the night, the villagers took one look at him and ran off screaming, certain that the warlock Aizen's wrath had finally come upon them. Yoruichi and Orihime had to do a healthy amount of explaining, "No, he isn't going to hurt you." "He's our prisoner." "This girl is the Promised Child and we're on our way to the Emerald City… no, we won't hurt you either."

The townspeople were reluctant to believe them, but kind enough to give them a place to stay. It also didn't help that Grimmjow would make as if he was about to start chasing them, laughing at their terrified reactions, only to be bitten by Yoruichi as punishment.

It didn't take long for most of Oz to hear that one of Aizen's most powerful henchmen had been arrested by the Promised Child, and that they were on their way to the Emerald City. After that dreadful first night, the rest of the towns and villages that Orihime and her merry band passed through received them with open arms, loading her with food and gifts and well wishes for the journey. "Umm, thank you!" She felt guilty accepting the presents, especially when she still had relatively little desire to fight some crazed warlock.

To her relief, Grimmjow didn't put up much of a fight when it came to traveling. He tagged along with them without needing persuasion, though he and Nel were constantly arguing over the smallest things. "Hey! You're eating all the jelly beans!" Orihime sighed. _Here we go again_.

"Yeah? So what?" Grimmjow muttered around a mouthful of gooey sweets. "They didn't have your name on them, twerp. Besides, you don't need to get any fatter."

"I'm not fat!" Nel said, delivering a swift punch to his nether regions.

Orihime looked over her shoulder in time to see Grimmjow and, unfortunately, the jelly beans, tumble to the ground. "Nel, that wasn't nice!" she scolded the girl gently, jogging over to where Grimmjow lay wheezing. "Are you alright, Grimmjow-san?"

"Do I _look_ alright to you?" he gasped, grabbing the bottom of Nel's dress and dragging her to him, kicking and screaming. "Come here, you little demon!" His fist drove into her hair in a violent noogie.

"Stop it!" Orihime cried, grabbing his arm and trying unsuccessfully to pull it away from Nel.

"Let me go!" Nel wailed as she squirmed in his grasp. "Let me go! Grimmjow is such a jerk face! I hate you!"

Grimmjow growled, frustrated, and threw her aside, ignoring both her and Orihime's protests. Standing up quickly, he began a brisk walk towards the woods. "Where are you going?" Orihime called out to him.

"Taking a piss!" he snapped back, disappearing into the trees.

Yoruichi sighed and stretched her lithe body, deciding that now would be as good a time as any for a short break. She looked at Orihime, who was busily comforting the crying munchkin. "Come on, Nel, I know it's hard but you have to be nice to Grimmjow. We can't mistreat him."

"No! I hate Grimmjow! I hate him!" Nel sobbed, burying her face in her hands.

Orihime gingerly dabbed at Nel's cheeks with her sleeves. She wanted to make things better, but how? Those two had been bickering almost nonstop for a day and a half. "You know, if you don't pick on Grimmjow then he won't pick on you. Be civil with each other, okay? And besides, the jelly beans aren't that big a deal. We can get some more in the next city." She looked towards the woods where the blue-haired Espada had disappeared into. Then something occurred to her. "Yoruichi-san, what if he tries to run away?"

Yoruichi was giving herself a quick bath. "Why don't you ask Nel if he's still there, since she seemed to have sensed him when he attacked us yesterday?"

Nel nodded. "He hasn't gone anywhere." She sniffled, wiping her nose. "Though he can go to hell for all I care!"

"Nel! Where did you pick up such language?" Orihime was beginning to notice that, despite being a child, sometimes Nel's vocabulary was far ahead of her time. It was one of the many things she had been wondering about since the previous day. Perhaps The Great Wizard would be able to tell her.

Ten minutes later, Grimmjow came stomping out of the forest, swatting tree branches out of his way and cursing under his breath. Orihime considered saying something to him, but quickly realized that asking him how the relieving of his bladder had gone might have been inappropriate. Instead, she reached into her backpack and withdrew a small bottle of clear liquid. "Hand sanitizer?" she offered.

Grimmjow stared at the bottle curiously. "What's that?"

"It's like a mix of soap and water! You just rub it into your hands until they're dry and voila! Clean hands." Orihime popped open the cap and squirted some onto Grimmjow's hand before he could argue. His face contorted in disgust.

"Argh! It smells awful!"

"Really?" Orihime sniffed the sanitizer. Personally, she had always liked the smell.

Grimmjow glared down at Nel as he started rubbing the cold liquid into his skin. She glared back, her green eyes narrowed, looking as if she was ready to stick her tongue out at him. "Eh." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Did you want those jelly beans now?"

Nel crossed her arms and looked away. "Maybe. Not like it matters anymore."

His right eye gave a nervous spasm. Cheeky little brat. "_Here!_" he said, forcing a smile as he produced a new bag of jelly beans from his pocket. Orihime gasped and picked Yoruichi up, who meowed in surprised, watching the exchange excitedly. A peace offering! "And before you chuckleheads ask, I ran back to town," Grimmjow snapped, glaring at the nosy pair. "We Espada are a lot faster than you think." Orihime looked to Yoruichi for confirmation of this. The cat shrugged.

Nel stared at the bag of candy uncertainly. Grimmjow refused to look at her, his foot tapping impatiently as he waited for her to take it. Smiling timidly, she grabbed the bag and hugged it to her chest, then put on a stubborn pout. "Thanks, I guess."

Grimmjow's temper snapped like a twig. "What do you mean, _you guess_?"

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just saved me some in the first place!"

"I went all the way back to that town, scared two dozen people, and spent _my own money_ for a half-assed thank you? I don't think so! Give me those jelly beans!"

Orihime and Yoruichi sighed as the two broke out into a new argument. "We should keep going," Yoruichi said, freeing herself from Orihime's grasp and shaking out her fur. But as suddenly as the fight had started, it ended. An uncomfortable silence settled over the group. Orihime looked to see what had happened, only to find that Grimmjow and Nel were staring out at the road ahead, their eyes wide.

Nobody spoke. The sounds of the forest continued around them uninterrupted. Leaves rustled as birds took flight and resettled among their branches. Twigs snapped under the hooves and paws of woodland creatures. In the background, the rushing of water could be heard. Then, separated from the scenery, there came the soft and unmistakable sound of footsteps; even, unhurried, casual steps. On the horizon, a human figure approached, straight-backed and calm. Orihime squinted to try and get a better look.

It was a man, dressed in white clothing similar to Grimmjow's. But there was something strange about him; his skin was an unhealthy pallor, his expression unwavering in the slightest, as if it had been carved from stone. And his eyes… Orihime felt unsettled by how vividly green they were, a color that she could see even from a distance. A stripe ran from the center of each eye, all the way down his cheek, reminding her of inky tears. They stood out against his monochrome body, two cold and unfeeling emeralds amidst shaggy black hair and ghostly skin. He never quickened his pace, the only sign that he had even acknowledged them being his emotionless gaze fixed on Orihime's face.

She felt her entire body shaking, both captivated and utterly terrified, limbs locking and refusing to move. This person _felt _different; inhuman, almost. Something entirely different from both her and Grimmjow. His very presence demanded authority, giving Orihime the horrible feeling that she would do whatever he asked of her without question.

"Damn it," Grimmjow swore, breaking the spell. Orihime tore her eyes away from the stranger and looked at the blue-haired Espada, whose hand had moved to the hilt of the sword he'd kept strapped at his waist, unsheathed thus far. "I was hoping Aizen would send somebody else."

Then, to Orihime's utmost surprise, Grimmjow got between her and the man, who was now only a few feet away. "Stay behind me," he whispered. "Don't run until I tell you to, got it, princess?"

Yoruichi was at Orihime's feet, the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. "We'll protect you. You just worry about Nel," she growled.

Orihime crouched down and hugged the trembling girl close to her, both watching as the man stopped walking. His gaze had never once moved away from Orihime, but now he turned his attention to Grimmjow, his face remaining an expressionless mask as he opened his mouth to speak. "What do you think you're doing, Grimmjow?" His tone was flat, uncaring, as if the outcome of their exchange wouldn't be changed in the slightest by Grimmjow's answer. Orihime shivered involuntarily.

Grimmjow's mouth spread into a grin. "Didn't you hear? I'm this girl's prisoner, so I have to protect her, whether I want to or not." He clutched his sword a bit tighter. "Those are the rules of war, right?"

"You may save your excuses for someone who is interested," the man answered, apparently not worried that Grimmjow could have hacked him to pieces at any given moment. "Lord Aizen has ordered me to get rid of you, as you have defied him one time too many." He then drew his own sword, pointing the blade at Grimmjow. "And once I am rid of you, the Promised Child comes next." His green eyes locked with Orihime's gray, causing her heart to lurch in her chest, and in the speed it took her to blink, he had disappeared.

Grimmjow cackled wickedly and disappeared as well. Yoruichi ran back to Orihime and Nel, determined to protect them no matter what state she was in. "Be careful, Orihime. That man is Ulquiorra Cifer, the fourth in command of Aizen's private army. He isn't human like you; he won't respond to reason, so please don't try to argue with him if this should turn sour."

"What do you mean?" Orihime whispered frightfully, looking around frantically for the two Espada. "How is he not human?"

A shadow fell over them. Ulquiorra now stood above Yoruichi, his sword raised and poised to take off Orihime's head. "I have no heart," he answered calmly, and the sword came down.

Grimmjow appeared in the nick of time, parrying the blow and forcing Ulquiorra back a few feet. From the looks of it, he had already sustained damage, his left arm hanging limply at his side, blood dripping from his fingertips. He looked back at Orihime. "I suggest you start running!"

Ulquiorra came at a blinding speed, knocking Grimmjow's blade aside and hitting him in the gut with the hilt of his sword. He doubled over, giving Ulquiorra the chance to stare frostily at Orihime. "You will not escape," he assured her, his fist pummeling the underside of Grimmjow's jaw and sending him flying over them, his body hitting the yellow brick road hard. Just as easily, he hit Yoruichi away when she leaped for him and shoved Nel out of his way with his leg.

Orihime wanted to run. Her breathing came in ragged gasps, sweat running down the back of her neck and thighs, but she couldn't move. Ulquiorra held her gaze and she was unable to look away. The tip of his blade, coated in a slick layer of Grimmjow's blood, came to rest on her cheek. He turned her head, examining her. "You look like a normal, weak human to me," he said, turning her head the other way. "I cannot fathom why Lord Aizen is so afraid of you." His muscles tightened, adding enough pressure to cut Orihime's cheek. She flinched.

Grimmjow swore, spitting blood out of his mouth as he grabbed his sword and shakily got to his feet. He had to get Ulquiorra away from the stupid girl.

Orihime's chest heaved with the effort of her breathing. In times like these, she remembered, the first thing to go was the control she had over her tongue. Whenever she had gotten in trouble at school or with her friends, she would begin babbling. That was exactly what happened the moment her mouth fell open. "Y-You don't have a heart, huh? That's kind of sad. I feel bad for you!"

Ulquiorra may as well have been a statue for all that he moved. "There is no need for sympathy. I am quite fine without one." His eyes momentarily lifted, settling on Grimmjow. "The heart is a useless organ. It makes you weak, stupid, reckless." He then looked at Nel. "It makes you a coward."

"That's not true!" Orihime tried to recoil from the sword, but he kept it pressed securely against her cheek. She swallowed, her throat dry. "A heart is something precious! The good feelings, and even the bad feelings that it brings are things to be cherished! S-Sure they may get pesky sometimes, and there are days when you wish that you hadn't had your feelings hurt, or felt jealous seeing your best friend with the person you love, or you even wish that you'd never fallen in love with that person to begin with," her heart squeezed painfully, "but I would rather have that than nothing."

Ulquiorra poised to strike. "You talk too much."

"Gotcha!"

He didn't even have time to turn around. Grimmjow, who had used Orihime's lecture as a diversion, stood behind him. With one swing of his blade he severed Ulquiorra's right arm, the pale Espada's sword dropping harmlessly to the ground. Orihime cried out in alarm, scrambling away from the detached limb.

Ulquiorra didn't even blink. "Is that the best you can do?" He lifted his left arm and drove his hand into Grimmjow's throat. Orihime watched in horror as Grimmjow tore away from him, choking and clutching at the gaping wound.

"No," she whimpered, shutting her eyes. "_No_!"

With a burst of light, the twelve petals in her hair scattered, flying towards Grimmjow. Swirling around him quickly, he caught himself and stood amazed as the petals healed the hole in his neck, then repaired his broken arm in a matter of seconds. Yoruichi, Nel and Ulquiorra watched as well. Then, after fixing Grimmjow's body, the petals flew towards Ulquiorra and his severed arm. His green eyes widened very slightly as they reattached the limb before darting back to Orihime, where they healed the cut on her cheek, then returned to their places.

Silence. Ulquiorra tested the reflexes in his arm, swiping the air with his sword a few times. Then he turned his gaze on Orihime. "What games are you trying to play, woman?" he demanded, pointing the blade at her. "Why did you heal me?"

Orihime stood shakily, refusing to meet those chilling eyes. "Cifer-san," she addressed him as politely as she could, "please tell your master that I don't want to do this anymore. I have no interest in putting a stop to him. I don't even _like_ fighting." Her voice was quiet, shaking. "I'm not playing any games. I just don't like seeing anybody hurt, especially because of me." Tears filled her eyes. "I-I just… want to go home. Please, let me go home."

Ulquiorra didn't feel the slightest bit moved. But he remembered what Aizen had told him: this girl had displayed the power of the Six-Petal Flower, and as such, he was to let her live. Mindful of Grimmjow, who was still standing behind him, he sheathed his blade. "Very well," he said in the same monotone as before, "I will honor your request."

"_What_?" Grimmjow barked.

"However, Lord Aizen does not trust you, and has therefore appointed me to accompany your party to the Emerald City. Should you, at any moment, show a single sign of going back on your word, I will not hesitate to remove you from existence." Ulquiorra turned and began walking in the same direction he had come, stopping next to Grimmjow. "That goes especially for you."

Relief flooded Orihime's body. She let out a breath she hadn't even been aware that she was holding. "Thank you," she murmured, though she was sure the Espada was out of hearing range by then.

Grimmjow came jogging back to her. "What are you doing? We can't trust him!"

Orihime looked up at him, blinking. "With all due respect, Grimmjow-san, we can't trust you either," she said quietly, then picked up Yoruichi and went after Ulquiorra. Nel approached Grimmjow, her wide eyes reflecting her uncertainly.

"Things are getting interesting, huh?" He grinned, patting her head before they set out after the other three. Orihime was right; they couldn't trust him. His intentions may have been dishonest, but at least they were innocent. Ulquiorra was Aizen's most loyal soldier, and without a heart, he would have no problems turning on the group when the order went out.

"Don't dawdle," Ulquiorra ordered them without turning around.

Yoruichi sighed. "I don't like this," she said to Orihime. "We're _his _prisoners now."

"I know." Orihime chewed her bottom lip worriedly. But at the moment, Aizen was the only one offering her the escape she wanted. She stared at the back of Ulquiorra's head, wondering what went on in the mind of a person with no heart. Was he even thinking at all, or did he just act without questioning it?

"Stop staring at me, woman."

"Sorry!" she squeaked, averting her gaze to the yellow brick road. Her nerves were still weak from earlier, having been held under the scrutiny of those intense green eyes for far too long. Was this how it was going to be for the rest of the journey? She shivered, silently hoping that he never, ever looked at her again.

Ulquiorra felt the magical pressure of Aizen watching them. His eyes flickered very subtly, alerting the warlock that his plan had been set into action. He would lead them to the Emerald City, alright. He just couldn't guarantee that the girl would be going home.

**To Be Continued**


	7. Passport

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Passport**

"Being that you are now my prisoners, there are a few ground rules to set out before we go any further on this less than delightful journey." The light shining above the group was making Orihime's head hurt. They had come to stop at a village which, according to Yoruichi, wasn't far from one of Oz's largest bodies of water. Normally it would have taken them longer to get there, but Ulquiorra wasn't one for taking what he deemed were "unnecessary" breaks. Now, after coming up with a decent story to keep the villagers fooled into thinking that everything was under control, they sat in a motel lobby with two room keys.

Ulquiorra held both, staring down at his captives. "The Promised Child stays with me."

"_What_?" Yoruichi and Grimmjow yelled, startling Nel, who was falling asleep in Orihime's lap.

"It is a precautionary measure to make sure that she will not conspire against Lord Aizen. She gave her word, and therefore, she will be kept under my supervision," he explained in a stern voice, as if explaining a punishment to a group of children. Then he tossed one key at Grimmjow and kept the other. "You can stay with the feline and the girl."Grimmjow opened his mouth to protest. "Do as I say or die. It's your choice."

Orihime took this all in silently, knowing she should say something to reassure the others, but when Ulquiorra's green-eyed gaze settled upon her all she could do was nod mutely. She handed Nel to Grimmjow and stood, feeling a chill as she left their company. With her life now in the hands of a heartless man, she tried not to be afraid as he led her away down the hall towards their designated room. It was at least two doors down from any form of help. He could kill her and nobody would find out until morning.

Ulquiorra slid the key into place and the door came open, the hall light briefly illuminating the tiny room. There was one bed pushed into the far left corner, a desk and an armchair next to it. Orihime timidly squeezed past Ulquiorra, shivering as her arm came into contact with his cold skin, and stood in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do. He closed the door and threw the key onto the desk. "You will go to sleep promptly, woman. There will be no time to waste on foolishness tomorrow."

"Sure." Orihime shuffled forward carefully in the dark, glad that the moon was bright enough to shed a sliver of light. Removing her backpack, she felt around inside until her fingers brushed against the soft material of her pajamas, but after withdrawing the top and bottoms she hesitated. Ulquiorra stood by the door, arms crossed, staring at her. "Umm, if it's alright… can I change in the bathroom?"

"Why?"

"I don't feel very comfortable getting undressed in front of a man." Her cheeks colored, making her glad that they were in relative darkness.

Ulquiorra blinked slowly, as if she had told him that the sky was purple. "Your human body does not tempt me in the slightest, woman."

"Oh, I wasn't saying that it would!" Ouch. Orihime would have felt insulted had she not been so scared. "It's just… I've never done it before, except in front of my brother, but that was when we were both kids and it wasn't all that inappropriate for - "

"Cease your babbling at once." She pressed her lips together. Ulquiorra reached to the side and pushed the bathroom door open. "You may change in there, but do it quickly. Do not make me suspect that you are consulting with the others by any hidden means. I _will _come in after you."

Orihime quickly made her way to the bathroom, turning on the light and peering up at the pale Espada briefly. "Thanks," she muttered uncertainly before closing the door and hastily undressing. Was he going to be like this the entire trip? Some tin man he was! She would bet money that Dorothy would have never had such a problem. Unable to help herself, she stared at her body in the mirror, prodding at her unfortunately large chest and pinching the slight pudge of her tummy. Not tempting, huh? She knew plenty of guys that would have said otherwise.

She sighed, slipping her feet into her pajama bottoms and tugging them up around her hips. Yoruichi and Nel were probably worried sick about her; Grimmjow, too, in his own passive-aggressive way. But at least the three of them were together. They could take comfort in each other, which was something she might not be allowed for the remainder of her time in Oz.

Once her pajama top was on, she went to the sink, turned on the faucet and dabbed some cold water on her face. She had left her body soap outside, fairly certain that if she had decided to take a shower Ulquiorra would have come in and thrown her out completely naked. After drying her face, she emerged from the bathroom cautiously, not wanting to bump into her captor on the way out. But he wasn't at the door anymore. Turning her head, she found him standing over her backpack, examining its contents. "Hey!"

Ulquiorra didn't even look at her. He withdrew her pink flip phone, turning it over in his hand curiously. "Some sort of radio transmitter to your friends in the Oz army?" he asked, noting the small nub of an antenna.

"No! That's – ah!" Orihime held out her hand, but it was too late. Ulquiorra crushed the phone in his vice-like grip, letting it drop to the floor in a mess of chips and keys, then resumed his search through her backpack. Orihime stared at the broken phone, blinking back tears. "My brother gave that to me," she whimpered. "It was the only one he could afford…" But her tearful explanation, which had come too late, went ignored. Ulquiorra seemed satisfied with the rest of her personal items, zipping up the backpack and placing it on the floor.

"Sleep, woman," he told her, then moved to sit in the armchair next to the desk. "I will not stop for you tomorrow if you are tired."

Orihime sniffled and wiped her eyes, walking forward and stepping over the remains of her first and only cell phone. She pulled the tightly tucked sheets from the single bed and slid into it, laying her head on the pillow and staring at the wall, letting out a shaky sigh. She wanted to cry, but she refused to do so in front of _him_. Maybe tomorrow, when she could hug Yoruichi and be reassured.

Closing her eyes, Orihime tried to send herself to the world of dreams, but a tingling sensation at the back of her head told her that she was being watched. Her eyes opened again. She chanced a look over her shoulder and, sure enough, Ulquiorra was staring right at her. "Umm…"

"What now, woman?"

"I can't sleep with you watching me like that…"

Ulquiorra didn't bat an eyelash. "You will go to sleep of your own free will or I will suffocate you until you are unconscious."

Orihime quickly lay back down and threw the covers over her head. "Right." She was wide awake now, but nonetheless, she had to do as he said. "Good night, Cifer-san." There was no reply. She sighed heavily. It was like being a child, trying to sleep with the paranoid thought that there was a monster in the closet. But her monster was sitting a few feet away, and he wouldn't turn into a coat over a chair or a pile of toys if she flipped the lights on. He was flesh and blood, inhuman, and most definitely out to get her.

…

The next morning, Orihime was practically dead on her feet. It had taken her almost two hours to doze off, then to her dismay, Ulquiorra had woken her up just after sunrise, giving her little time to get herself together before they had met with the others in the lobby. Nel and Yoruichi hadn't made things much better, remarking that she looked horrible and interrogating her as to the happenings of the previous night. Luckily, there wasn't much to say. Orihime had slept relatively undisturbed, just not as much as she would have liked to.

They set out early, all having to settle for gas station pastries a little too close to their expiration dates for comfort. Ulquiorra, having no appetite for human food, went on undeterred while his group of unwilling followers straggled behind. "My feet hurt," Nel whispered to Orihime after two hours of walking at a brisk pace to stay within their dictator's hearing range, lest his wrath be invoked.

Orihime, barely lucid, snapped to attention. "Huh?"

Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder at them. Their backs stiffened, mouths zipping shut, save for Orihime who let out a loud yawn and wobbled a bit. Nel instinctively clung to Grimmjow's pant leg. He sighed and stooped over, picking her up and putting her on his shoulders. "Better?"

"Yeah!" she cheered, grabbing hold of his hair and effectively making him cringe.

"A little easier on the locks, munchkin. And don't drool on my head!"

After another hour of silence, during which Orihime nodded off once or twice while still upright and walking, Yoruichi addressed the Espada in front of them. "I take it we're going towards Lakeside?"

"You are correct," he answered as if he had predicted the question, or even been waiting for it.

"But once we reach the Spindle region, won't that take us a little too close to the foot of Mount Oz?"

"That is the way to the Emerald City, is it not?"

Yoruichi growled. "How do we know you won't just hand us over to Aizen?"

"You have my word, cat. I am not one to break promises."

Orihime snapped awake again, crying out in alarm. "Look out, gummi bears! They're trying to eat you!" she yelled, quite distressed. Then she refocused on reality and found everybody staring at her, Ulquiorra included. Her cheeks flushed. "Are we there yet?"

"_Now!"_ a voice commanded from a distance.

Her answer came in the form of at least two-dozen soldiers sweeping in from the forest, blocking the road ahead of them and surrounding the group on all sides. They drew gun-like weapons and pointed them at the five travelers, causing Grimmjow to put Nel down and instinctively move closer to Orihime and Yoruichi, a hand on his blade. "_Lay your swords down immediately, warlock dogs!"_

Ulquiorra blinked, perhaps his way of showing irritation. "What is the meaning of this?"

From within the group came a tall woman with a black ponytail and, from what Orihime could see, a missing arm. She put her only arm on her hip, glaring down her nose at them. "You heard them. Drop your weapons. The backpack too, girl," she said to Orihime, who quickly did as she was told.

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, however, were not going to give in quite as easily. "Who are you, and why should we listen to you?" the blue-haired Espada demanded.

In the blink of an eye, the woman stood in front of him, her gun-like weapon pressed against the bottom of his chin. "I am Kukaku Shiba, the mayor of Lakeside and, therefore, its protector and highest authority," she hissed, pulling back the hammer. "So I kindly suggest you do as I say."

"Please listen to her, Grimmjow-san," Orihime whispered to him, then said a bit louder, "We don't want any trouble with the authorities!"

Grimmjow growled at the one-armed woman and took his sword, laying it down on the ground reluctantly. "Getting it all dirty," he muttered under his breath.

Orihime looked at Ulquiorra pleadingly. For a moment, he didn't budge, then he bent at the waist to place his sword at his feet. The woman made a hand motion and two soldiers came forward cautiously, taking the blades and running back to the group. "Wow, I can't believe you managed to disarm them," Yoruichi said approvingly.

Kukaku's gaze was drawn to the cat, who stared back at her with unmistakable golden eyes. "Yoruichi?" She picked the feline up and scrutinized her. "Is that you in there?"

"Unfortunately. It's nice to see you again, Kukaku," the cat answered, her furry face breaking out into what could have been a smile. "How many years has it been now?"

The woman grinned. "Far too many. Wow! How did you end up a cat? Wait, don't tell me. This is the wizard's doing, huh? What did you do to piss him off this time?"

Yoruichi sputtered. "_I _didn't do anything!"

"Sure you didn't."

"I was given this form to go to Earth and find the Promised Child." She jerked her head in Orihime's direction. "That would be her, by the way."

Kukaku let Yoruichi climb up onto her shoulder and walked over to the drowsy, slightly dizzy teenager. "You don't say?" She held out her only hand. "Nice to meet you, Promised Child. Oz has been waiting for you for quite some time."

"Nice to meet you, too! My name is Orihime Inoue." At Kukaku's change in expression, she giggled sheepishly. "But you can just call me Orihime."

"Hey! Don't handle it like that!" Grimmjow anxiously yelled at the soldier holding his sword.

Yoruichi laughed. "You're probably wondering what we're doing in the company of Aizen's men, huh?" Her tail twitched in amusement as she watched Grimmjow make faces at the young soldier. "This is Grimmjow, number six in the warlock's private army. We've sort of taken him prisoner. Surprisingly enough, he's completely harmless."

"No I'm not!" he snapped. "I'm the terrifying Grimmjow Jaegerjaques! I've killed more men than I can remember – and enjoyed it, too!"

"He's my pet," Nel declared, causing his jaw to drop. She held her hand out to Kukaku. "My name is Nel! I'm a munchkin!"

"I can see that," she said, patting her head.

"I'm your _what_?" Grimmjow bellowed.

Kukaku grinned. "Don't fuss, Pet-chan. There's no need to be embarrassed." She jabbed her thumb in Ulquiorra's direction, ignoring Grimmjow's incredulous expression. "What about him?"

Orihime looked at Ulquiorra. He stared back at her, unblinking, no change in his face whatsoever. "He's…" If Kukaku was a friend of Yoruichi's, as well as a public authority, she could place Ulquiorra under arrest and they could leave him there. "He's our escort," she answered, her gaze still level with his. Ulquiorra's eyes widened very slightly "He's taking us to Emerald City to see The Great Wizard."

"Hmm." Kukaku stroked her chin. "Well, harmless or not, I can't have two of Aizen's men walking around my city armed. It would scare the pants off of my people, you know."

"That is acceptable. We do not plan on staying," Ulquiorra spoke calmly, though his mind was in a state of confusion. Why had the Promised Child defended him? She could have easily turned him over to this woman, left him rotting in a local prison until Aizen either came to kill him or sent someone to his aid. He quickly gave it a rational explanation: Getting rid of him would not be beneficial to her goal of returning home, as it would put her on Lord Aizen's bad side and therefore thrust her into the war. The girl didn't seem crafty enough to come up with such a plan, but then again, he had only been with her for a day.

"Ah, so you're catching the ferry to Spindle, eh?" Kukaku smiled. "No problem! We'll chaperone you guys to the dock and see you off. The Espada can have their weapons back then."

"Thank you very much, Shiba-sama!" Orihime bowed politely.

Kukaku waved her hand. "Oh come on, none of that crap. Shiba-sama was my older brother."

"Was?" Yoruichi asked, then noticed that Kukaku and all of her soldiers were dressed in black. "Oh no, don't tell me that Kaien…"

Kukaku's smile faltered a bit. "Yeah," she said quietly, turning her back to them. "Two months ago."

Orihime bit her bottom lip, lowering her gaze. Nel looked up at her sadly. Grimmjow quieted down, shoving his hands into his pockets Yoruichi sighed heavily. "Kaien Shiba was a powerful sorcerer," she explained to them. "In fact, he taught Rukia everything she knows about magic. He was a good friend." Her head lowered, golden eyes staring sadly at Kukaku's back. She vaguely wondered how many more of her friends she'd lost while on Earth.

The procession headed down the yellow brick road, eventually coming to the top of a hill from which they could see the entire city of Lakeside. True to its name, the bustling metropolis stretched along a cliff overlooking Lake Oz, one of the world's largest bodies of water; not quite a sea, as land could be seen dotting the horizon on the other side, but trying to walk around it would take a week at the very least. A vast amount of Lakeside's business came from offering ferries across the lake, the rest from shipbuilding, fishing, and tourism. "Home sweet home!" Kukaku said proudly as they began the descent into the city. Passing the gates, Orihime noticed that the city flag was positioned in the center of its pole, rather than the top. Two months later and they were still in mourning.

Lakeside's citizens looked like they didn't know what to make of the group. Two Espada, a munchkin, a young woman and a cat surrounded by soldiers and following behind their fearless leader? It was certainly one of the more bizarre sights they had ever seen. But Kukaku seemed perfectly fine, so they tried to go about their usual tasks without worrying.

Orihime took in a deep breath, smelling a mixture of moisture and food. Her stomach growled. Now would have been the perfect time to ask if they could stop for lunch, but she didn't, fearing for the moment that Ulquiorra dropped his obedient behavior. She could practically see him towering over her with those terrifying eyes, "_You wasted our time, woman…_" He would hiss at her before revealing a row of fangs and sinking them into her soft flesh.

She slapped her hand against her neck. Grimmjow looked at her curiously. "Mosquito!" she squeaked, shaking her head. Just because Ulquiorra's skin was cold and he lacked a beating heart didn't make him a _vampire_. If anything, it made him a walking corpse, like a zombie. Her eyes widened, picturing him feasting on her spilled brains. "Eh…" she whimpered, shaking her head harder.

"Are you zoning out again?" Grimmjow's eyebrow arched.

"No, not at all!" Orihime put on a serious look and marched dutifully forward. Soon they had reached the dock where several ferry boats were lined up, waiting for passengers. A burly man with a bandana wrapped around his head approached them.

"What's up, Sis?" He slapped Kukaku a high-five. "What do we have here?"

"Five travelers in need of a lift to Spindle," she answered, beckoning them forward. "This is my kid brother, Ganju. He's the master shipbuilder around here, but he likes to take over the ferries every once in a while."

"Good to see you again, Ganju," Yoruichi held out her paw to him.

His eyes widened. "General Shihoin, is that you?" He shook the small paw. "What did you do to piss the wizard off this time?"

Orihime looked at Yoruichi. "You and The Great Wizard must fight often, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it," Yoruichi answered dryly.

"I've got a boat set to leave here in ten minutes." Ganju motioned to one of the ferries that was currently boarding passengers. "All I'm going to need is your passports and you can go right ahead."

Silence. "What do you mean by passports?"

"You know, your legal papers?" He crossed his arms. "Shortly after the war started a law was passed requiring all citizens crossing regional borders to present legal documentation. In this case, your passports."

Orihime pointed to herself. "I'm not from Oz. I don't have a passport."

"The only passport I have is back at the Emerald City, and it's for my human form," Yoruichi muttered. Everyone looked at Ulquiorra and Grimmjow.

"Lord Aizen sends his soldiers wherever they need to go. We are above your pathetic human laws," Ulquiorra said coldly.

Nel poked her fingers together. "I don't have one either."

"Then it looks like you're stuck here," Ganju said with a shrug. "There's border patrol on either side of the lake, so even on foot you would need papers eventually."

Orihime wailed in despair. "What are we supposed to do, then? We have to get to the Emerald City!"

"Hey, hey, chill out! Are you forgetting who I am?" Kukaku slung her arm over her brother's broad shoulders. "I can get you guys passports, no sweat! You'd just have to come up to my house, fill out the appropriate paperwork, and allow for three to five business days for processing. Sometimes seven, depending on the weather."

"But aren't you the one who approves the applications?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yeah, but have you _seen _the stack of paperwork on my desk? Being mayor isn't easy you know, and I'm not granting any favors for friends." She grinned. "Besides, you can all hang out, have some fun, and enjoy the sights and whatnot."

Orihime clapped her hands together, coming to a sudden realization. "In that case, I'm getting a job!" she said decisively. "It'll only be for a few days, but I don't have any Oz currency, and I promised Nel I would buy her a new outfit. Besides, I'm sure we'll need money in the future. Can't keep getting by on everyone's hospitality."

"Then I'll get a job too!" Nel cried.

Grimmjow snorted. "If it'll keep off boredom, I'll work," he muttered. "But no pansy jobs!"

Ganju clapped him on the back. "Then do I have a job for you, Mister Espada!" He pointed out toward the shipyard. "We've got some vessels in need of repair. They took quite a beating after our last battle against Aizen's third in command, the pirate general, Harribel."

Orihime looked at Ulquiorra. "What about you, Cifer-san?"

"I have no use for money or work," he said sternly.

"Fun guy, isn't he?" Kukaku whispered to Yoruichi. "Well then! Ganju, I'll give your new laborer back as soon as he fills out his paperwork." She turned in the direction of the city's main street. "If you will all follow me, we'll get you situated in no time!"

"Where do you live, Shiba-sa… err…"

"Just call me Kukaku." She pointed to a structure at the very top of the sloping road that cut straight through the heart of the city. "That's my house over there!"

Orihime sighed. Of course she lived at the highest point in the city. Nel tugged on Grimmjow's pant leg and held her arms out wordlessly. He rolled his eyes and picked her up, lifting her onto his shoulders. "I'll be happy when this is over and I can get my sword back."

**To Be Continued**


	8. Progress

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Progress**

Kukaku Shiba's home rested atop a cliff from which she could see all of Lakeside – from Main Street to the suburbs and shipyards – and the waters ahead of it. At that height, Orihime could also see the Spindle region, just out of reach. It was so close… She sighed, tuning back in as Kukaku went on talking at a mile a minute. "I can set you guys up with rooms in my house; there are plenty of spares. It'll save you the trouble of spending money on a hotel."

"We will only require two," Ulquiorra said from his place next to Grimmjow. "The Promised Child remains where I can see her."

Kukaku glared at him over her shoulder. "Look, you-!"

"It's okay! I don't mind!" Orihime held up her hands quickly, intercepting the fight before it could start. She didn't want to cause trouble for anyone, and besides, aside from hardly getting any sleep and having her belongings rifled through, the previous night hadn't been so bad. "It was part of our arrangement."

"Orihime!" Yoruichi hissed. "You don't have to!"

"Really, it's fine." She smiled at them reassuringly. Ulquiorra said nothing, keeping his eyes on the approaching house. It was rather grand; from what they could see the house had three stories and a wealth of rooms. "Wow… how many people live here?"

Kukaku laughed. "Oh, not many. These are mostly government offices. The employees go home at night and the house is pretty much left to me and Ganju. Kaien lived here with his wife before they went off to war." One of her soldiers ran ahead and opened the doors for them, standing in respectful silence as they passed. There were many Lakeside residents sitting or standing in a waiting area with a reception desk at the back of the room. "Good afternoon everyone!"

"Good afternoon Mayor Shiba!" some said back, though the majority could only stare at Grimmjow and Ulquiorra in frightened silence.

"Citizens of Lakeside, allow me to introduce you to our guests!" Kukaku turned to Orihime first. "This girl, Orihime, is the Promised Child of the Oz Prophecy! Please treat her with the utmost respect!"

"But no differently than anyone else!" Orihime chimed in.

"This black cat is General Yoruichi Shihoin, who some of you may remember from the post-war years, and the girl is the munchkin Nel!" Nel smiled happily at the recognition, her grin stretching from ear to ear. Kukaku motioned towards the two Espada. "The blue-haired guy is Nel's pet – Grimmjow, was it? And the black and white guy is Orihime's escort to the Emerald City. I know, they look like and probably are bad guys, but they've sworn not to harm a single person during their stay!"

"I'm not her pet!" Grimmjow snapped irritably, though the fact that he was still carrying Nel on his shoulders didn't do much to help his cause.

"I swore no such thing," Ulquiorra told Kukaku in a matter-of-fact manner. She crossed her arm over her waist.

"In giving us your weapon you have made the agreement. It was implied."

Orihime stepped between them. "Cifer-san wouldn't have hurt anyone anyway! Right?" She looked back at him hopefully, but he merely stared at her as if she were the stupidest person he had ever spoken to. Her smile wilted. "Right! He won't hurt a fly!"

Kukaku took them past the waiting area and offices that followed, reaching into her gun's holster and withdrawing a key as they neared the end of the hall. There was a door with a locked gate in front of it, which she inserted the key into and gave it a good twist. The gate creaked open and Kukaku went through the door first, turning on a light to illuminate the stairway inside. "To the top floor, everyone!"

Orihime noticed portraits hanging on the wall as they ascended. There were some of Kukaku from the days when she'd had both arms, dressed in military gear. Next to her, Orihime recognized Yoruichi's human form, with shorter hair and a cocky grin. Further up, there was one of Kukaku and Ganju standing with a dark-haired man that looked a lot like her friend Ichigo. "Is this your brother, Kaien?" she asked, pointing to him.

"Sure is!" Kukaku smiled proudly. "That was the day he was officially named a sorcerer. He was so happy."

There was also a wedding picture of Kaien and his wife, and after that, a picture of him standing with a group of teenagers. One of them was Rukia, grinning and waving her wand at the photographer. Orihime would have lingered and examined the portraits longer if Ulquiorra hadn't been standing off to the side, waiting for her to come along. She ducked her head apologetically as she walked past him.

Soon they had reached the third floor, which was more of a residence than the downstairs portion of the house. The locked door at the top of the staircase opened into a living area with a large kitchen on the left, and on the right a hall stretched onwards to a series of bedrooms and bathrooms. "Welcome, weary travelers! You may choose whichever room you'd like of the ones available, help yourselves to anything in the fridge, and basically make yourselves at home! Just don't trash the place." Kukaku winked at them, then motioned to one of her soldiers. "Would you be a dear and go tell the receptionist to bring up five passport applications?"

"Yes milady," the soldier bowed and retreated down the stairs.

Nel climbed down from Grimmjow's shoulders and ran ahead to scope out the rooms. He followed her, warning her not to break anything. Yoruichi looked up at Kukaku. "Still have those heated baths outside?"

"You know it!"

"A bath?" Orihime's eyes lit up. She hadn't showered since the night Grimmjow had joined them, and she was desperate to soak her muscles and get clean. "I could certainly use one of those!" The only problem there was that Ulquiorra would probably insist on being nearby to make sure that she didn't try to run away.

"We can go now if you want," Kukaku said as she walked into the kitchen. "The offices should be closing soon, and with sunset coming it should be cool enough outside to fully enjoy the bath. Spa quality, I promise you."

"I've got dibs on this room!" Nel announced from down the hall.

Taking that as his cue, Ulquiorra silently crossed the living room and passed Nel, choosing a room far enough from the others to effectively block communication. Orihime breathed a sigh of relief as he disappeared from sight, feeling the oppressive weight of his scrutiny lifted. She hated being kept so close, but she had no other choice. "I guess I'll put my things down before I join you."

"Orihime, you really don't have to stay with that guy," Yoruichi whispered. "Kukaku will fight him off."

"Sure. I've got some of my brother's leftover spells for keeping people out of rooms," Kukaku added, "though Yoruichi will have to activate it. I don't have a shred of magic potential in me."

Orihime shook her head. "I appreciate your concern, but I don't want to make him angry, just in case he does decide to do away with us once we're out of Lakeside," she said quietly, then started down the hall. In Nel's room, the munchkin had taken to jumping on the bed, giggling with delight.

"Watch it! You're going to hit your head!" Grimmjow yelled as she jumped a bit too high, her small fingers brushing against the ceiling.

Orihime stifled a laugh. Those two certainly had an interesting relationship. She then walked to her designated room, which was on the right side of the hall, and found Ulquiorra at the window. He seemed to be looking for something. "Umm… Cifer-san, I'm going to be taking a bath, alright?" She hesitated, watching him. What was he doing? He had a finger pressed against the glass and seemed to be measuring something, his black lips moving soundlessly. "Cifer-san?" Orihime called out uncertainly.

"What is it, woman? I heard what you said."

"Oh, uh, okay." She placed her backpack down on the floor and unzipped it, crouching down and pretending to be busy looking for her pajamas while keeping an eye on him. After repeating his mysterious measurements twice, Ulquiorra removed his finger from the glass.

"This room will be sufficient," he muttered. Then he turned to Orihime, a shiver tearing through her as his eyes pierced her very soul. "I shall accompany you outside."

Her cheeks reddened. "I don't think Yoruichi-san and Shiba-san will like that very much."

"I didn't say I was accompanying you to the bath, woman."

"Oh. Right, of course not." Now she felt twice as embarrassed. Finding a hair clip, she hastily twisted her long orange mane and secured it with the clip. Ulquiorra was still staring at her, so she decided that she might as well ask him a question. "What were you doing at the window?"

"That is none of your business."

She pressed her lips together. "Okay." Attempt to start a conversation: unsuccessful. Grabbing her pajamas, she stood up and exchanged her tennis shoes for a pair of flip flops before heading for the door. Ulquiorra followed her out of the room, hands in his pockets. Yoruichi, Kukaku and Nel were already waiting by the stairs.

Kukaku glared at Ulquiorra. "I hope you know that you aren't getting in with us."

"I have no plans to join you," he answered coldly.

"Good! Then let's go!"

The outdoor bath had been constructed at a distance from the house, so nobody looking out of any floors would be able to see the bathers. It was a small structure with tall glass windows that framed a picturesque view of Lake Oz. A wall divided it in two, one side for men and the other for women. Ulquiorra went to the men's side without needing to be told, though Orihime noticed that he made no inclination to get into the bath.

"Whoa, this bath is huge!" Nel cried, her voice echoing off of the high walls. She immediately wriggled out of her green dress and dove into the warm water, squealing happily. "Come on in, big sis!" she said to Orihime, who smiled and kicked off her flip flops.

"Don't mind if I do!" She tested the water with her foot, sighing dreamily. The temperature was perfect. She removed the rest of her clothing and slipped into the bath, wanting to jump for joy. It was so relaxing! "Wow, this is amazing, Shiba-san!"

"What did I tell you about the name?" Kukaku scolded her as she carefully lowered herself into the water. "But I'm glad it's to your liking, Orihime."

Yoruichi lay down by the side of the bath. "I'll stay out here. This body isn't very fond of water."

Orihime giggled. "You should've seen her back on Earth," she said to Kukaku, reclining against the wall, "she'd disappear the moment I broke out the pet shampoo."

"Hey, that stuff smelled bad!" Yoruichi playfully swiped at her with her paw.

Kukaku leaned back as Nel swam by, doggy-paddling through the water. "You were on Earth for a while, huh? And you left so unexpectedly, without a goodbye or even giving a heads up. You know Kuchiki-san was awfully upset that you didn't attend his wedding."

"You don't say," Yoruichi muttered, lying on her side.

Kukaku clicked her tongue. "Don't tell me you left because you found out he was getting married."

Orihime looked between the two. "Yoruichi-san is good friends with Kuchiki-sama?" She thought back to their day at Yawn. Byakuya didn't seem very happy to see Yoruichi, though she would be pretty mad too if one of her friends skipped town on her wedding day.

"Ha!" Kukaku grinned. "That's a good one."

"Don't you even start," Yoruichi warned her.

"Orihime, you don't know much about Yoruichi, do you?" the black-haired woman went on undeterred. "She and Byakuya were both elites, so they had been going to the same private academies since they were kids. Rivals in everything, especially speed." Orihime blinked, recalling how Yoruichi had disappeared in her human form, much like Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had while fighting. "Of course, there comes a time when the fine line between hatred and affection grows blurry…"

"Enough," Yoruichi groaned.

"And before the rest of us knew it, there was something of a romance budding between them," Kukaku continued, ignoring the distressed cat. "Wherever we found one, we usually found the other. They were _so cute _together," she emphasized, making Yoruichi wince. "Then The Great Wizard showed up." Her smile turned into a slight frown. "He gives Yoruichi a once-over and declares that she has outstanding potential, and what happens? She runs off with him, leaving her parents a note saying that she's gone to explore her future as the Wizard's apprentice. They were _pissed_."

"So I've heard," Yoruichi muttered, wishing she could tune them out.

"They weren't the only ones, either." Kukaku looked at her. "Byakuya felt so betrayed. He never said so, of course, but he was completely different after she left."

Orihime also looked at Yoruichi, who had turned her back on them. "He got over me," she said quietly, closing her eyes and wishing it were true. She could still hear his voice whispering in her ear.

"_Forget the Wizard. Come back. Stay here, with me…"_

"I guess." Kukaku snorted, rolling her eyes and smiling at Orihime. "Yoruichi is prone to making spur-of-the-moment decisions, but it's what makes her Yoruichi, y'know?"

Orihime didn't know, but she nodded anyway. She wished she could learn more about the woman in the cat's body, but judging by Yoruichi's posture, she was done talking. "Kukaku-san," she decided to change the subject, "tell me more about your brother."

The older woman blinked in surprise. "Hmm," she tapped her chin, "well, he was a bit hot-headed sometimes, but very wise. He was taught by The Great Wizard. I think he was two or three classes below the warlock Aizen, actually." She made a face. "Kaien was the hero of our city. He was constantly out on the streets, helping citizens through their daily lives, putting safety charms on all the vessels venturing out to sea and, later on, to war." She sighed. "He hated fighting, but if it was to protect the people he cared about, he would do so gladly. When he and his wife Miyako went out to battle… well, nobody imagined that Aizen would be among his generals that day. In the end, no one came out alive, except for the Good Witch of the North."

"Rukia-chan?" Orihime said quietly.

"Kaien had forced her to run when Aizen appeared. She later told me at Kaien's funeral that she would always regret not staying behind. But I think that after watching most of his students and his wife killed so mercilessly, my brother wanted at least one person to survive." Kukaku smiled. "That idiot. I sure do miss him." She looked at Orihime and gasped. "Y-You're crying! Aw, hell, I didn't mean to make you do that!"

Orihime wasn't sure when she had started, but now she wiped her tears, choking out a laugh. "Sorry!" She waved her hands. "I'm fine, I just couldn't imagine, you know? My older brother is all that I have left. He's been taking care of me since I was little, and if I ever lost him, or he ever lost me…." She imagined Sora now, pacing in their small apartment, worried to death about her. "That's why I have to go home, as quickly as I can… so he won't suffer anymore."

Nel swam over and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry, Orihime! We'll get you to the Emerald City safe and sound!"

Yoruichi sat up and ventured closer, nuzzling her wet cheek. "You'll be home soon," she promised, noticing Kukaku's distressed expression and shaking her head. Orihime may have been the Promised Child, but saving Oz was the furthest thing from her mind.

…

By the time they decided to get out of the warm bath, Grimmjow had come and gone on the men's side, the women having been silenced by an apparently one-sided argument between him and Ulquiorra. While it worried Orihime, she found it funny that Grimmjow exploded when he lost his temper, whereas Ulquiorra had never once raised his voice. She dried herself off and put on her pajamas, her aches and pains gone, sunny disposition returning… until she remembered that now she got to walk back to the house in the dark with the boogeyman.

But Ulquiorra said nothing to her, nor did he mention his argument with Grimmjow, who was sitting in the living area filling out his passport application when they returned. Nel quickly ran to join him. "I'm just about dead on my feet, so I think I'll go to bed," Orihime announced, taking her own application with her. "Good night." She smiled and waved before heading down the hall. Ulquiorra followed wordlessly.

Once in the room, she stretched her arms above her head and looked out the window. The moon, slowly on its way to becoming full, was shining directly in front of her, and it was with that light that she saw the smudge left on the window by Ulquiorra's finger earlier. It was an arch, on which the moon seemed to be traveling. Was that why he had picked this room in particular? Could it be possible that Ulquiorra actually _liked_ something, and enough to keep such details? Pursing her lips together in an effort to fight a smile, she grabbed her toothbrush out of her backpack and turned, motioning towards the adjoining bathroom. "I'm going to brush my teeth."

"Make it quick, woman." Ulquiorra waited until she had gone into the bathroom before moving to sit on an armchair in the corner.

Orihime felt quite cheerful, having discovered what might have been a personality quirk in her silent, strict chaperone. He liked the moon! Perhaps she could talk to him about it, but remembering her last attempt at conversation, she decided against it. Just because he had such a quirk didn't make him any friendlier, but it did make him a bit more human, and that made her feel better about being in his company. Her scary vampire was now just an antisocial guy wearing plastic fangs.

She was humming before she knew it, rinsing the toothpaste out of her mouth and smiling at her reflection before putting on a somber face and stepping out of the bathroom. Ulquiorra didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on the moon, which she briefly smiled about. Then she climbed into the bed, marveling at how soft it was. Much better than that firm motel mattress. "Good night, Cifer-san," she offered politely. Once again, she got not reply.

Orihime lay facing the wall, eyes wide open despite being tired, wondering what she would do the next day. Would there be any jobs to find? Kukaku had mentioned that a lot of the men were still at war, so people might have been needing help in their stores. She had promised to inquire early the next day.

"Woman,"

Orihime nearly jumped at the sound of Ulquiorra's voice. "Yes?" she squeaked. Was he going to scold her for staying awake?

"Why do you add -san to the end of my last name?"

She turned to face him, but his green eyes were still on the moon, illuminated in the darkness like gems. "Well, -san is an honorific. In my country, it's a polite way to address somebody that you've just met, or one of your superiors, or just somebody that you have respect for." Come to think of it, she had heard some of Oz's citizens using honorifics as well.

Ulquiorra was silent a moment, then spoke again. "You address me in a polite manner, though I am not polite to you."

Orihime twisted the blanket around her finger. "Yeah," she said quietly.

"And you address me by my last name, though you refer to everyone else by their first."

She blinked. "Do you want me to call you by your first name?" Silence. "I mean, it wouldn't be a problem!"

"Stop babbling and go to sleep, woman."

Orihime felt her hopes deflate. Here she'd been thinking she was making progress, though the fact that he'd even had a conversation with her could probably be counted as such. She sighed and turned away from him again, closing her eyes. "Good night, Ulquiorra-san." Her heart sped up as she listened for a reply of any kind. For a moment, she felt the tingling sensation of his gaze on the back of her head, and then it was gone. He said nothing else as she drifted off into a deep sleep.

**To Be Continued**


	9. Something He Likes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Something He Likes**

By the time Orihime woke up the next morning, she was sure that her brief conversation with Ulquiorra had been a product of her dreams. When her eyes had opened, he'd been there, sitting in the arm chair and staring at her unblinkingly, his passport application filled out neatly. She wondered if he ever slept. It seemed doubtful. He treated her no differently than before, ordering her to do things quickly to avoid wasting any time, though today they wouldn't be traveling anywhere.

Kukaku had already left by the time Orihime emerged from her room, fully dressed, with Ulquiorra on her heels. Yoruichi sat on the kitchen counter reading a newspaper, waving her tail at them as they entered. "Good morning, you two."

"Good morning Yoruichi-san," Orihime said cheerfully, passing her to rummage through the refrigerator. She felt a bit guilty doing so, but Kukaku had told them to make themselves at home, and her stomach was practically barking at her. "Where are Grimmjow and Nel?" she asked, noticing the lack of munchkin and prisoner.

Yoruichi chuckled. "Still sleeping. It was the cutest thing, though, because when I woke up she was…"

A loud, masculine cry came from down the hall, followed by an even louder thud, then shuffling, ending in a thump against the wall. Orihime abandoned her breakfast quest and ran to see what had happened, Yoruichi bounding after her. Poking her head into the room, she saw Grimmjow with his back against the wall, clutching a pillow to his bare chest and pointing a shaking finger at Nel. "_What were you doing in my bed_?" he demanded, eyes wide.

Nel hardly seemed bothered. If anything, she was still groggy, blinking and looking around in confusion. Then, realizing what he had said, she frowned. "I had a nightmare," she answered simply.

"You did not have permission to crawl into bed with me!" Grimmjow bellowed, still trying to recover from the shock. "And as if that weren't bad enough, you _drooled on me_!" He wiped at his muscled forearm in disgust, smearing the moisture onto the floor.

"Well, good morning, love birds!" Yoruichi said with a catty grin. "Did you enjoy your sleep?"

"_Eh?_" Grimmjow's head snapped in their direction, his face draining of color until he was almost as pale as Ulquiorra. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"Love birds? Ew! Who wants to be love birds with _him_?" Nel protested.

Grimmjow glared at her. "I've had plenty of women, for your information! _Grown _women, too! Not bratty little munchkins like you!"

"They must've been either really ugly or really stupid then!"

"You want to come down here and say that to my face?"

"I'll hock a big, fat loogie into your stupid face!" Nel jumped down from the bed, ready to give him a piece of her mind. Orihime hurriedly ran and scooped her up before she could launch herself into a battle that she wouldn't be able to win.

"Now, now, there's no need to fight!" she said, tightening her grip as Nel kicked and attempted to wriggle free. "Why don't we all go to the kitchen and enjoy some _peaceful_ breakfast, huh? Grimmjow, weren't you supposed to meet up with Ganju this afternoon? You should get ready!" Ignoring Nel's cries to let her go, Orihime took the girl into the bathroom to help her brush her teeth and wash her face. Growling, Grimmjow stood up and threw the pillow back onto the bed, glaring at Yoruichi when he heard her snickering.

"What?"

"That was pretty cute, Pet-chan." She turned and bolted from the room before he could grab her, though he pursued her into the living area anyway, passing Ulquiorra, who had taken up the abandoned newspaper to read. He spared the two a blank look.

"Please, Number Six, make yourself decent before you leave your quarters."

Grimmjow stopped and pointed at him. "I don't need to take crap from you!" he declared, stomping back towards the hallway. Yoruichi approached Ulquiorra cautiously, jumping up onto the kitchen counter.

"Looking for a job?"

"I am not," he answered, his green eyes scanning the page. "Gathering information is one of my duties to Lord Aizen." Yoruichi frowned as he separated one of the pages from the rest and slid it across the counter surface towards her. "Here, since you and the woman are so insistent on working." She stared down at it. _Help Wanted_.

"Umm, thanks." Yoruichi regarded him a moment longer. "Out of curiosity, is the warlock planning another attack anytime soon?"

"It is not my business to know," Ulquiorra replied coolly. "I do as I am told, and right now, my only mission is to bring the Promised Child to the Emerald City. War plans are given to those chosen to be on the field."

"So you're a lot like me, then," Yoruichi said as she went down the list of job postings. "Find the Promised Child, protect her until she is ready to fight, bring her to Oz. Despite being a general, my job as Orihime's escort keeps me out of the loop for the most part. But, unlike you, I serve some of my own self-interests on the side."

Ulquiorra gave her a chilling a look. "I do not have any self-interests," he stated.

"Really? Not even one?"

The front door's lock clipped open, and a second later, Kukaku stepped into the room. "Good morning guys!" She grinned and moved aside as an older woman came in after her. The woman gasped upon seeing Ulquiorra, holding a hand to her chest. "Relax, he's harmless."

"Do not make up lies about me, cripple."

"Where's Orihime?" Kukaku asked, ignoring him. "Orihime! Front and center! Get over here!"

"Coming!" Orihime's voice chimed from down the hall as Grimmjow reentered the living room, fully dressed in his Espada gear.

"She's wrist deep in munchkin-infested waters," he told Kukaku, then spared the older woman a quick glance. She stared at him fearfully. His mouth spread in a menacing grin, revealing his sharp canines. "You brought me breakfast? How thoughtful… _ow_!" he cried as Yoruichi walked up and bit his ankle. "I was just kidding!"

"You're going to give the poor woman a heart attack!" she scolded him.

Grimmjow rubbed his offended skin. "Damn it all, I just can't win today!" he grumbled, walking past Kukaku and the woman. "I'll be back whenever."

Orihime arrived a moment later, toweling her arms dry. She looked from Kukaku to the older woman, smiling. "What's going on?"

"Orihime, this is Mrs. Hopkins, owner of the Hopkins Bakery on Main Street," Kukaku explained, ushering the woman forward. "She was here yesterday when we arrived at the house and, long story short, she tells me this morning that she's short on hands and would be more than happy to give you a job at the bakery."

Orihime's eyes widened. "Really?" A bright smile broke out on her face.

"Certainly, dear. The soldiers are on the return so I should have some of my staff back in a few days. You can help me in the interim," Mrs. Hopkins said, clasping Orihime's hands in hers. "I would be honored to have the Promised Child working in my shop!"

"Oh, thank you very much!" Orihime cried, unable to contain her excitement. "I'll come with you right away! Oh, wait, I need to finish helping Nel first. It should only take a minute!" she said, running back down the hall. Nel was grappling with her dress, having gotten her head caught in one of the sleeves by mistake. "Nel, I got a job!" Orihime said as righted the dress and straightened it out. "That means that once I get paid I can buy you something that fits a little better! Wouldn't that be great?"

"Yeah!" Nel threw her arms around her neck. "Good luck with work!"

Orihime ruffled her short hair. "What will you be doing today?"

Nel thought for a moment. "Staying out of trouble!" she promised, though she had half a mind to go down to the shipyard and pelt Grimmjow with fish. Satisfied, Orihime ran to her room and grabbed the smaller purse that she kept in one of her backpack's pouches and slipped it over her shoulder, then rejoined the group in the living room. Ulquiorra stood waiting by the door with his hands in his pockets.

"Is he coming too?" Mrs. Hopkins whispered to Orihime worriedly.

"Oh, umm…" She looked at Ulquiorra. "Are you?"

"I am your escort," he replied simply. The girl should have known this by now.

Orihime shrugged. "I guess." She said her good-byes to Kukaku and Yoruichi, then followed Mrs. Hopkins out with Ulquiorra close behind. It was significantly quieter now, even when Nel came in to raid the fridge, humming cheerfully. Yoruichi looked at Kukaku.

"I suppose I should get going, too."

"What's the rush?" The black-haired woman dropped onto the sofa and propped her legs up on the coffee table. "Let's catch up for a while."

…

The Hopkins Bakery was right in the heart of Lakeside, amidst the hustle and bustle of what could have been considered downtown. It was no surprise, then, that there were already a number of customers ordering coffees and loaves of bread when Mrs. Hopkins and Orihime arrived. The smell of baked goods made Orihime's toes curl in delight. She _loved _food, particularly fresh bread and pastries. In fact, she was currently majoring in business, hoping to follow it up with a trip to culinary school so that she could someday open a restaurant or bakery of her own. She couldn't have found a better part-time job.

Ulquiorra went ahead of her, paying no attention to the frightened stares of the customers, and took a seat by the window. From here he had a perfect view of the outside world, as well as into the kitchen. The idea of staring at the bakery's cheerfully colored interior for too long was entirely unappealing.

Mrs. Hopkins led Orihime into the back of the bakery, greeting and introducing her to some of her bakers along the way. "How much do you know about baking, Orihime?"

"Not much," the girl confessed, having made a perfectly terrible batch of cupcakes once upon a time. She remembered Tatsuki's eyes watering, Kurosaki looking like he was swallowing a brick, and Ishida's polite yet obviously forced smile. "Nothing at all, really," she amended.

"Well, that's alright." Mrs. Hopkins winked at her. "Thanks to Sorcerer Shiba, bless his soul, we've taken a lot of the guesswork out," she said, stooping over and heaving a sack of flour onto a clean counter. "Know what this stuff is?"

Orihime eyed the strange symbols on the sack. "Is this a trick question?"

Mrs. Hopkins laughed loudly and clapped her on the back. "You're a funny one, aren't ya?" She patted the sack heartily. "What we have here is enchanted flour. A gift from the sorcerer himself! See, when my husband and I opened this bakery, we didn't have very much money for ingredients, nor were we very good at what we did. But shoot, it was all that we knew how to do." She smiled. "The sorcerer came by one day for lunch and we were so embarrassed, having to serve him some sad excuse for a cupcake, but do you know what he said? He told us that all of the heart we put into baking it had made it into the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. As his thanks, he placed an enchantment on our flour." Mrs. Hopkins snatched a cupcake from a passing tray and dabbed a bit of frosting on the top, then held it out to Orihime. "Try it."

Orihime took the cupcake, suddenly remembering that she had skipped out on breakfast. When she bit into it, the delicious taste of blueberries assaulted her mouth. "Mm!" She peered into the cupcake but, to her surprise, there wasn't a single blueberry in it.

"The trick is, simply by willing it with all of your heart, the flour will bake into whatever flavor you desire!" Mrs. Hopkins told her. "It's certainly saved my dear husband and me a lot of money on ingredients."

"Oh, I bet!" Orihime placed the rest of the cupcake into her mouth, chewing happily. Oh, she could definitely get used to this job. For the next two hours, Mrs. Hopkins showed her how to properly mix the ingredients, how much to put into each cupcake tray, and how to prepare frosting. The rest of the staff liked her well enough and helped her out whenever she had questions. It was a lot to learn, but Orihime didn't mind.

A little after noon, Orihime noticed Mrs. Hopkins staring at something and followed her gaze. Ulquiorra sat motionless at his table, save for the occasional flicker of his gaze, arms crossed. "Not to be rude or anything," the older woman whispered as Orihime approached, "but your escort's scaring away my regulars."

Orihime thought for a moment. "Oh, I know!" she cried, then ducked when Ulquiorra turned his head to look at her. She ran further back into the kitchen and motioned for Mrs. Hopkins to join her. "Maybe we can convince him to eat something! That way the customers will see him enjoying a muffin or something and won't think of him as anything less than human!" Though she wasn't sure how well this plan would work; she still hadn't witnessed him eat.

"_Is _he human?" Mrs. Hopkins arched an eyebrow.

"I don't know yet!" Orihime gathered up her determination, took a cupcake and left the kitchen. She strode purposefully up to Ulquiorra and slid into the metal seat across from him, smiling. "Lunch break." she said, pointing to the cupcake. He spared her a look but said nothing, turning his gaze back out the window. Orihime pulled down the cupcake liner and took a bite. "Mm," she sighed happily, staring at the cupcake as if it were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She bit into it again. "_Mm_!" she vocalized a bit louder, drawing Ulquiorra's attention. "This is _so good_." He remained silent. "Do you want one?"

"No."

Shot down in a heartbeat. Orihime licked frosting off of her fingers with exaggerated slowness. "Are you sure?" she asked, biting into the cupcake again and shivering with delight. "They're better than sex, I promise you. Not that I've ever engaged in - "

"No."

Orihime put on a pout. "I could get you any flavor you like." What would that be, moon flavored? The thought made her snort with laughter. Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed.

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing!" she said quickly, tucking the rest of the cupcake neatly into her mouth to stifle her giggles. He continued to glare at her, making it harder for her to swallow. "Well, fine. Suit yourself! But don't be sorry that you missed out later."

"I assure you that the thought will not cross my mind," Ulquiorra said stonily. She huffed and stood up, going back to the kitchen where Mrs. Hopkins and a few of the bakers had been watching nosily.

"No good," she said, ashamed that she had let them down. After washing her hands, she returned to her post, but she could tell that Mrs. Hopkins was still worried. It nagged at her conscience as she stared at the flour on the counter in front of her. With renewed determination, Orihime set to work preparing the mixture, all the while chanting in her head: _Turn into something that Ulquiorra will like. Turn into something he'll like… something he'll like! _She had no idea what it would be, but she had to try.

Fifteen minutes later, the lone cupcake was done baking. Orihime looked over her shoulder, not wanting anyone to know that she had deviated in terms of flavors, then quickly removed the tray and placed it on the counter. She inspected her frosting choices before selecting a green one and smearing it onto the cupcake, topping it with black sprinkles. It looked harmless enough. She wanted to try it, but what if it was poisonous to humans? What if it tasted like blood or brains? Cringing, she carefully removed it from the tray and placed it onto a delicate plate.

"What's that?" Mrs. Hopkins asked as Orihime passed her.

"An experiment," she whispered in reply. For some reason, she felt like a secret agent carrying out a mission. Letting her imagination get the best of her, she crouched near the floor and shuffled out of the kitchen, keeping a firm grasp on the cupcake plate. Both the employee and the customer at the register stared down at her curiously as she slowly peered over the counter, her gaze locked on the back of Ulquiorra's head. She placed the cupcake plate onto the counter. "Psst!" No response. "Ulquiorra-san!" she whispered loud enough for the entire bakery to hear her.

Ulquiorra peered over his shoulder. He saw the top of Orihime's orange head as she waved him over frantically. What was the stupid girl up to now? When he didn't move, she whispered even louder. "Ulquiorra-san, come here!" He wasn't in the mood to entertain her, but he had a feeling that she would keep making a racket if he didn't go over there. Standing from the seat, he walked over to the counter, not failing to notice the cupcake with green frosting.

"What do you want, woman?"

Orihime didn't straighten from her crouch. "I made you a cupcake," she whispered, pointing to the treat as if he hadn't seen it.

"I told you that I did not want one."

"Oh, come on!" The whine in her voice made him cringe inwardly. "Please? I'll feel bad for wasting the bakery's resources if you don't eat it."

"You should have thought of that before you made it, woman."

Orihime made her eyes as wide as possible and stuck out her lower lip, a trick that had suckered her male friends into giving her some of their food over countless lunch periods, or convinced her brother to buy her whatever stuffed animal or clothing item had caught her fancy. "_Please_?"

"I do not require…" 

"Neither do I, but I had one anyway!" Orihime interrupted him moodily. She tried her best to glare at him, but the intensity of his own never allowed her to summon all of the malice she would have liked. Ulquiorra's gaze went from her to the cupcake. It sat on the counter, the green frosting a total eye sore. He lifted it up and inspected it on all sides, recoiling slightly at the sugary scent. But Orihime had abandoned herself to hope, eyes wide with anticipation, her breath caught in her chest. Ulquiorra could have easily thrown the cupcake over his shoulder and stepped on it on his way back to the table, but there something about her blind enthusiasm that made him reconsider. Cautiously, he raised the cupcake to his mouth and took a bite.

Orihime, Mrs. Hopkins, the bakers, the customers and even curious bystanders outside had stopped to watch. Ulquiorra chewed it slowly, staring at Orihime, who looked about ready to burst with excitement. She gripped the counter even tighter as he swallowed the first bite and re-inspected the cupcake. Then he turned away from her, cupcake in hand, and walked back to the table. "Hey!" she yelled, jumping to her feet. "Did you like it or what?"

Ulquiorra didn't respond, but Orihime noticed that he was eating it with deliberate patience. She broke out into a grin, entirely too proud of herself as she rejoined Mrs. Hopkins in the kitchen and slapped her a high-five. Seeing one of Aizen's soldiers eating a cupcake brought in more curious customers within minutes.

The only thing that bothered Orihime was that she never figured out what flavor the cupcake had been.

**To Be Continued**

**A/N: **Nobody can resist cupcakes, even Ulquiorra. YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE.


	10. Under the Moon

**A/N: **I've been asked a question: **Do Ulquiorra and Grimmjow have their mask fragments?** The answer is no. Grimmjow's sexy jaw and Ulquiorra's shaggy black-haired head are nice and naked! They don't have their hollow holes, either, simply because they aren't hollows in this story.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Under the Moon**

After a long day of working at the bakery, and a long afternoon of cleaning up and preparing for the next morning's customer rush, Orihime walked back to the Shiba house with a smile on her face and a paycheck in her hand. She felt like skipping, but thought that Ulquiorra might take that as her trying to get away from him, or just being mentally ill. "Money, money, money! This is so great!" she cried, waving the envelope in the air. "I'm so glad Mrs. Hopkins decided to pay me at the end of every shift rather than right before I left."

Ulquiorra said nothing in reply, regarding her with a stoic curiosity. Such a simple thing made her this happy? She had been overjoyed when he'd eaten the cupcake she had baked for him, proud as if it had been her own willpower that had prompted him to do so. Personally, he would have found no pleasure in watching someone eat. And having money was a matter of convenience, not joy. Humans were so strange.

Orihime turned to look at Ulquiorra, cheeks flushed, her gray eyes alight. "You know, maybe I should buy myself a new outfit, too. My Earth clothes don't exactly blend in with Oz – at least, not any of the villages we've visited." She tapped her finger against her chin. "Grimmjow, too. If he keeps walking around in his Espada attire, people are going to be afraid of him." Her eyes narrowed suggestively.

"I will not change my clothing, woman," Ulquiorra told her sternly. "Number Six may be your prisoner, but I am not. This uniform is a symbol of dominance."

Orihime wrinkled her nose. "But aren't you hot? The weather is all sorts of humid."

"My body is indifferent to both heat and cold."

She turned her back to him. "Lucky." Once again, a puzzling answer. Didn't most humans enjoy the difference in temperatures, some preferring the winter to the summer and vice-versa? Why would this girl find it to be troublesome? The corner of Ulquiorra's mouth twisted downwards. Maybe she was doing this on purpose, trying to throw him off with her backwards logic. If it were mind games she was looking to play, he could do that. There was no way he would lose to a frail human girl.

The government offices were closed for the night, employees still milling about, making dinner plans with each other. They quieted when Orihime and Ulquiorra passed, offering the girl a tentative smile and wave but moving clear out of the Espada's way. He walked by without sparing them a glance, his gaze locked on Orihime's back as if she would disappear the moment he let her out of his sight.

When they came to the third floor, Yoruichi and Kukaku were sitting together on the sofa, doubled over in laughter, having been reminiscing about their school days. Yoruichi jumped down and went to greet Orihime, rubbing against her legs. "Welcome back! How was the bakery?"

"Oh, I absolutely loved it!" Orihime scooped her up and stroked her glossy fur. "And look, I got paid! Where are Nel and Grimmjow?"

Kukaku stood up and put her hand on her hip. "The shipyard should be closing down soon. Nel left earlier saying she was going to find herself a job, but we haven't seen her since."

Orihime's brow furrowed. "I hope she's alright." She had half a mind to go out and look for her, but Grimmjow seemed to have developed a strange bond with the munchkin; if she were to go missing, he would probably be the first to run off and find her. In the mean time, a bath was in order. She had to get clean and go straight to bed, not wanting to oversleep and be late for her second day of work.

Ulquiorra stood by the hallway, arms crossed, waiting for Orihime to finish her conversing. Then suddenly his gaze flickered towards the end of the corridor, coming to rest upon the figure of a man in a long white coat, a relaxed smile on his face, his eerily empty eyes boring into Ulquiorra's.

Aizen.

…

By the time night had fallen completely, Grimmjow and Nel had both returned, bickering as usual. According to Ganju, she had shown up at the shipyard, quickly captivating the working men before distracting Grimmjow by making faces at him. It had taken five men to wrestle him onto the ground after he'd tried to fire a cero at the munchkin, and a number of scoldings later, he'd done his best to ignore her. Orihime made sure that Nel knew how disappointed she was. "You promised me you were going to stay out of trouble!" she said as they soaked in the outdoor bath.

"Sorry. I saw his butt-ugly face and couldn't help myself," Nel replied, though the smile on her face was anything but apologetic.

"I heard that, you buck-toothed, hag-looking brat!" Grimmjow yelled from the other side of the dividing wall.

Ulquiorra, who stood with his back against it, looked at his sulking former partner. "I do not understand why you let that girl push you around," he said quietly enough for just Grimmjow to hear. "You could easily tear the head off of her shoulders."

Grimmjow frowned. "And here I thought that you of all people would know why I would never do that." He leaned back against the edge of the bath, staring up at the almost full moon. "I may only be half human, but the beating heart in my chest remembers what my mind can't."

"What an absurd notion. The heart is not capable of storing memories."

"If you had one, you would understand."

Ulquiorra's muscles tensed. Was that _pity _he had just heard in Grimmjow's voice? He would rather be destroyed by Oz's generals than have this simpleton pity him. But hadn't that woman said the same thing? _"That's kind of sad. I feel bad for you…"_ There was no reason to feel bad. Ulquiorra didn't care one way or the other. But did that callousness stem from his lack of a heart? Was having one really so important?

Instinctively, he reached up and placed his hand over his chest. Nothing. No beat, no thrum of life, nothing to pump the blood that moved through his body of its own accord. Certainly, had he pierced the flesh there he would find a hole where the heart should have been, a hole that he had never felt until now. Vacant, empty, dark.

"Ulquiorra-san?"

He looked up and saw Orihime standing by the door. His hand dropped to his side. "You are finished?" She nodded, clutching her towel and day clothes against her body. He joined her without another word, forcing away the troubling thoughts that had surfaced so suddenly. Mind games. They were just trying to confuse him.

Orihime noticed that Ulquiorra wasn't walking ahead of her as he usually did, so she slowed her pace and fell into step beside him, wondering what he was thinking about. When she'd seen him a moment ago in the bath house, he had almost looked worried. But that was gone, now, replaced by an impassive mask, a face devoid of emotion, like the sand-colored houses she had seen in New Mexico that had struck up an intense desire to throw a can of radioactive orange paint on them. "Needs color," she muttered.

Ulquiorra looked down at her. "What?"

"Nothing!" She quickly stared down at her feet. "I was just thinking about… never mind."

"You will tell me what you said," he ordered.

Orihime's cheeks were heating rapidly. "It's, uh… the desert. The one that I was driving through before I got to Oz. It was just filled with these awful, peach and tan houses. I mean, I get that they're trying to blend it into the landscape, probably to keep from scaring the wildlife out of their natural habitat, but it was in desperate need of some color! I mean, if _I _lived there…" she said, getting a little excited as her mouth ran ahead of her mind. Then she stopped herself, aware of the fact that Ulquiorra was now staring ahead, probably having tuned her out somewhere near the beginning of her rant. "And, uh… yeah. That's it." No response. She sighed, pushing her hair out of her face. She'd made a fool of herself again.

A half-hour later, she was climbing into bed, settling under the sheets as Ulquiorra stared out the window at the moon. She laid her head on the pillow, her back to him, trying to recall everything she had learned at the bakery to keep fresh in her mind. Her eyelids were getting heavier, and she feared that she would drift off before remembering the temperature that the frosting was supposed to cool at.

"Woman,"

"Hmm?" she mumbled sleepily, thinking that she was already dreaming.

"If you lived in the desert, what color would you paint your house?"

Orihime stopped trying to keep her eyes open, her thoughts swimming. "Uh… green, I think," she murmured. "But not just any green, like lime green or puke green; a real nice, bright green. Like Ulquiorra-san's eyes… like a lush, tropical forest in the middle of the desert. That would be nice…"

Ulquiorra stared at her back, perfectly still. After a few minutes, her breathing evened out. He counted off half an hour before he was sure that she was in too deep a sleep cycle to be awakened by sound, then stood up and made his way to the door. Green like his eyes? She wished to be reminded of him? What lunacy. She obviously wasn't right in the head, but the answer stayed with him nonetheless.

…

Being stuck in cat form, Yoruichi was a slave to this body's strange habits. She left the house at night to prowl, compelled to hunt, though she never actually killed anything she caught. Her golden eyes followed the bright moon, her feet carrying her further into the forest as her mind went over everything Kukaku had told her. The war had been fought long and hard. The people of Oz were tired, looking to the wizard for guidance, but that idiot had put all of his faith into the Promised Child. How would he react when he found out that Orihime wasn't cut out for war, physically or mentally?

Yoruichi sighed, truly afraid for the future of this world. Serving a power-crazed warlock wasn't her idea of an awesome career. And if all of the humans lacking in magical potential were going to be killed...

Her thoughts were abruptly silenced. The cat's nocturnal vision picked up the sight of a body standing just ahead, a tall and familiar outline that disappeared the moment she laid eyes on it. She rushed forward, chasing the apparition as intently as she would a rodent, her heart pounding in her ears. There was no way…

Yoruichi emerged into a clearing bathed in moonlight, panting. The figure stood in the center, no longer running, but waiting patiently for her to catch her breath. "You," she whispered, taking a number of hesitant steps forward.

"General Yoruichi Shihoin… I expected a human." Playful, yet laced with irritation.

"That wasn't fair," she growled. "You gave me that potion with no warning on purpose. What right do you have to test me?"

A long index finger wagged at her. "I have every right to test you, as you are my subordinate. And look, you've disappointed me. It breaks my heart, Yoruichi. Truly, it does." The figure approached her, stopping close enough to reach out with a long stick and lightly tap her forehead. Yoruichi gasped as her cat body shook violently, bones snapping and changing until she was left human and naked in the grass. "Your indecision," the figure crouched, two twinkling eyes narrowed at her, "it annoys me."

"Don't act like you're any better, you womanizing scum," she spat with half-hearted hatred. Rough fingers gently touched her neck, moving downwards, settling over her fluttering heart.

"And to think I had the bad sense to miss you all of these years," a voice whispered in her ear.

Yoruichi let out a soft purr. "Kisuke…"

"I have come here to deliver two messages, as I am needed back at the Emerald City by morning. The first is to keep up your guard; Aizen's forces have been gathering at the foot of Mount Oz. It appears he will be making a move soon. And the second, my precious little housecat, is simple: _choose_."

Then his touch, his presence, and her human form were gone. Yoruichi stood on four shaking legs in the middle of the clearing, and after a moment of silence, she cried out in frustration.

She would rather take on Aizen alone than ever have to choose.

…

Ulquiorra heard Yoruichi's cry but didn't go off to investigate. Nothing could deter him from his current mission. Upon seeing Aizen in the hallway that evening, he had understood the message clearly: he had a meeting to attend. To his knowledge, he hadn't done anything worth reprimanding, so the warlock was probably just looking for a progress report.

Five miles from the Shiba house, Sousuke Aizen reclined on a throne-like chair in a small clearing, enjoying the distant view of Lake Oz's sparkling waters. He said nothing as Ulquiorra approached and bowed respectfully on one knee. "You summoned me, Master?"

"Indeed." Aizen stroked his chin, as if wondering how to go about saying what he had to, though Ulquiorra knew that his creator always knew exactly how he would articulate his thoughts. "Earlier today, I decided to take a peek through the crystal ball and see how you were doing. Imagine my surprise! The fourth of command in my elite, private army enjoying a sugary treat? Not that there's anything wrong with that." His smile widened. "Did you enjoy it?"

"It was not terrible," Ulquiorra answered without hesitation.

Aizen stood up, pacing. "The thing is, Ulquiorra, that the Promised Child has become rather comfortable with you," he continued. "This is good news. After all, you are my personal representative, and I am letting her travel through my future world relatively unopposed." He stopped, admiring the moon for a moment. "Do me a favor, would you? Be kind to the girl. Friendly, if you will. Let her give you her absolute trust, as it will in turn lead her to trust me."

Ulquiorra bowed his head further. "Yes Master."

"Furthermore," he pointed to the moon, "in a few days, it will be full. When that time is upon us, I will be meeting with the Promised Child myself. Be ready to bring her to me."

Ulquiorra nodded, standing as Aizen turned and melted into the very night. He began his trek back to the house, his mind empty of all stray thoughts. Aizen was counting on him. There was no time to doubt himself. He had a mission to fulfill.

But as he neared the three-story building, he noticed Grimmjow standing by the back entrance, hands in his pockets. Ulquiorra ignored him, determined to get back to the room before Orihime woke up for whatever reason and alerted the entire house to his absence. An interrogation from the cat and the one-armed woman would not go over well, though it had sounded like the cat was having problems of her own.

Grimmjow looked up at Ulquiorra as he walked past him. "Hey," he said, though his superior in command did not pause, "if you lay a finger on Orihime, I'll break your freaking head open."

Ulquiorra said nothing. He hadn't been ordered to harm the girl, therefore, he would not. In fact, he would cut off his own arm before even considering it. Aizen was not to be disobeyed; the Promised Child was safe… for now.

**To Be Continued**


	11. Mind Games

**A/N: Happy 71****st**** Anniversary to the Wizard of Oz!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Mind Games**

Ulquiorra sat at what was now officially his seat in the Hopkins Bakery, as motionless as a statue. Despite his stony demeanor, he wasn't deaf, and could easily hear Orihime chattering animatedly with the other employees, telling them some outrageous story about her land of origin. Now that he slowed down to think about, he had no idea where this Promised Child had come from. She'd mentioned a place called Earth. Was Earth in Oz, somewhere, perhaps past the volcanic plains?

"And then, out of nowhere she yells something about bean paste and he snorts so hard that milk comes out of his nose! Of course, that gets the rest of us laughing so hard that we couldn't even breathe, and we called him Geyser all summer!" A chorus of laughter struck up in the kitchen, which Ulquiorra tried to block out. All this peace and lightheartedness was making his stomach hurt. He was far too used to the constant tension and discord among the residents of Aizen's fortress on Mount Oz.

Down the street from the bakery, Grimmjow was coming up from the shipyard for his lunch break, wiping sweat off of his brow. He was rather glad for his half-human body, which allowed him to work harder than and twice as long as the other men. Noticing a crowd gathering at the street corner, his curiosity was piqued, so he decided to see what the fuss was about. "Read all about it!" a familiar voice cried. "Warlock Aizen's armies gathering at the foot of Mount Oz! Many fear that an attack is eminent! Generals assembling in the Spindle region for military conference!"

Grimmjow pushed his way through the crowd, finding Nel standing on an overturned box exchanging newspapers for cash. She smiled at him. "Well, look what the cat dragged in!"

"What are you doing, munchkin?" he asked gruffly, ignoring the stab.

"I'm working!" She took a bill and handed a stack of newspaper to a waiting customer. "Boss Man said that cute kids like me always sold papers, so he put me out here on Main Street!" Her nose wrinkled. "Eww, you stink."

"Hey! That's the smell of hard work, unlike you with your cushy little box, lazy gremlin," Grimmjow said, kicking it and causing her to flail about in an attempt to regain her balance. She glared at him with such animosity that he pretended to feel threatened. "Geez! Don't overheat your tiny brain being that angry." He withdrew a dollar bill from his pocket. "Give me one of those."

Nel grabbed a newspaper from the stack and held it out to him, snatched it back when he attempted to get it, then squealed as Grimmjow put a hand on her head to keep her from moving and took the newspaper away, placing the bill in her palm. "Thank you for your patronage," she growled.

Grimmjow grinned and tugged at her cheek. "Come on, now. What happened to being cute? You have customers." He tucked the paper under his arm and turned towards Main Street, his hunger not forgotten. "Later!" He raised his hand in a half-wave and, once he had gone a considerable distance from the girl on the box, shoved the newspaper into a random bystander's hands. Human news had never really interested him.

…

Yoruichi could not deny the fact that she was worried. She'd spent her entire day pacing, wallowing in her own helplessness after reading the news report. So the Wizard was right. The generals and their armies were all descending on the Spindle region, which would mean that they would probably run into Rukia, Byakuya and Renji again. Were they up for battle? Oh, if only she could communicate with her troops in the Emerald City! Surely Kisuke had told them she was alive and in Oz, because if not she was pretty sure they would have replaced her by now.

"I don't know how you can be so calm," she told Kukaku, who was reading the newspaper looking like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Easy. It's not my problem anymore." Kukaku folded the paper and laid it across her lap. "I left the army to take Kaien's job as the mayor, so now my only job is to protect my city and those who live within it." She glared at Yoruichi. "Stop pacing! They're going to be alright. I mean, they've held out this long, right?"

Yoruichi sighed. "I guess."She laid down, head on her paws. "I just… really don't want them to get hurt."

"It's a war," Kukaku reminded her. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so rough, but you need to focus on your own job. Whether you're under that creepy guy's supervision or not, you _need _to start talking to Orihime about fighting for Oz. And don't give me any crap about how she doesn't want to! I know you're fond of her because she's taken such good care of you these last few years, but she's the Promised Child, and she's going to help whether she wants to or not."

Yoruichi's tail swished slowly. "You're right." There were a lot of people counting on Orihime, Kukaku included. She had to be prepared for war.

Down the street, at the Hopkins Bakery, Orihime held up a hand and sneezed into the crook of her arm. "Excuse me!" she sniffled, redirecting her attention to Ulquiorra, who she was currently sitting across from. "As I was saying, _please _do this for me? It's bad enough that you're sitting here scaring people. The least you can do is advertise!"

"I did not agree to this." Ulquiorra stared at the green-frosted cupcake in front of him, his arms crossed, the permanent frown on his face. "Take it back, woman."

"Mrs. Hopkins will kick you out of the bakery!"

"The old woman does not have the strength to do so."

Orihime heaved an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Ulquiorra-san! It's not like you hated the first one, right?" Silence. "_Right_?"

Ulquiorra contemplated her desperate expression. What had Aizen said to him? Be a friend to the Promised Child. He carefully thought over his next sentence. "If I eat this cupcake," he said slowly, "will that make you… happy?"

Orihime blinked. Had she heard him right? "Yes, it would."

Ulquiorra looked down at the frosted treat, exhaling through his nose a bit louder than usual – his way of sighing, perhaps? – then picked it up and carefully pulled down the wrapper. If Lord Aizen had not ordered him to please the girl, he would have shoved the cupcake up her nose until she suffocated… well, no, it would have been more amusing to watch Grimmjow die that way. He took a small bite, keeping his eyes on everything _but _the smiling girl in front of him. Could this be considered her victory? No, she only _thought_ that she was winning, but clearly he had the upper hand if this happiness of hers depended on his actions.

Satisfied, Orihime stood and dusted her floury apron. "Thank you! I'll be back in two hours or so with another one," she said, hesitating before awkwardly patting him on the shoulder once. "It really means a lot to me!"

Ulquiorra's head turned slowly, his cold green eyes displaying his buried fury, causing her to withdraw from him quickly. But once she had disappeared into the kitchen, he brought his shoulder into view, scrutinizing it as if he would find a stain of some sort. Physical contact. She'd just touched him. What a strange feeling.

The bell above the bakery door chimed pleasantly. "Well, isn't that just the most adorable sight!" Grimmjow exclaimed the moment he saw the half-eaten cupcake in Ulquiorra's hand, if only to hide his surprise. The Promised Child had convinced The Statue to eat human food? He walked over and yanked out the chair Orihime had been sitting in just moments ago, plopping down comfortably and pointing to the cupcake. "What's next? You gonna put on an apron and join them?"

Ulquiorra shoved the cupcake into Grimmjow's face with lightning speed, twisting his wrist and making sure he wedged a decent amount of frosting and fluff into the former Espada's nose. Grimmjow lost his balance and started falling backwards, but Ulquiorra was fast; he rose to his feet and grabbed a fistful of Grimmjow's hair to keep him in place as he violently drove the cupcake further into his face, certain that he'd already broken his nose but wanting to see the blood to make sure.

"What's going on out here?" Orihime demanded, then gasped when she saw Grimmjow trying to pry Ulquiorra's vice-like grip off of his head. Ulquiorra looked at her over his shoulder.

"Bring me another, woman."

…

Needless to say, Orihime was feeling a little put out that evening, despite the warmth of the bath water and the reassurance of having money in her wallet. Here she had been hoping that Ulquiorra had changed, if only in the slightest. But no; Grimmjow's nose was broken and she was sure that the sailors and shipbuilders would never hear the end of it, nor would Grimmjow hear the end of the snide comments regarding the frosting that he was still tentatively blowing out of his nostrils. He'd be sneezing sugar for days!

Yoruichi and Kukaku had just about died of laughter, but Orihime couldn't help noticing that Nel had been rather quiet since she came home. Even now, the munchkin rested in the water next to her, lightly kicking her feet to make small splashes with her toes. When Nel sighed, she decided to break her silence. "You okay?"

The little girl looked up at her with wide green eyes. "I'm fine," she said distractedly. "I have a headache, though."

"How can you have a headache in such a relaxing bath?" Yoruichi asked, coming over and sitting on the dry floor behind them. "Then again, you have headaches often, don't you?"

Nel nodded. She was silent for a moment, then she took in a deep breath. "I'm worried about Grimmjow. He's an Espada, so his nose will probably heal fast, but it looks like it hurts. Half his face was purple."

Orihime and Yoruichi looked at each other, sharing a wicked grin that could often be found on older sisters about to interrogate their younger siblings. Motioning with her paw for Orihime to speak, Yoruichi tried not to let her excitement show through as her mistress asked the inevitable question. "Nel, do you _like _Grimmjow?"

Nel frowned and snorted. "No, that's stupid. Who would have feelings for a barbaric ape like him?"

Defensive. Orihime had seen this one too many times. "Come on, we won't tell him, honest!" She made a zipping motion across her lips. "I won't tell Ulquiorra, even if he threatens to break my legs and fingers!"

On the other side of the wall, Ulquiorra blinked at the absurdness of her statement. Of course she would tell. Remaining silent would not be an option.

Nel fidgeted, making waving motions with her hands and feet to gauge their slowed underwater reactions. "Maybe."

"Maybe, what?" Orihime and Yoruichi leaned closer.

"Maybe I _do _like him." Nel sank further into the water, her cheeks turning bright pink.

"Aww!" the two squealed in unison. Not that this was good news; Nel was probably close to twenty years too young for Grimmjow; she was bound to have her heartbroken. But first loves were always endearing! Orihime knew that from experience. She hugged Nel tightly, smoothing down her short green hair. "You sure do have a funny way of showing it!"

Nel swatted her away. "I can't let him _know_! Gosh. He'd laugh in my face, the jerk." Her expression clouded over with a sorrow so profound that it threw Orihime for a loop. "Besides, being an Espada, he doesn't have feelings anymore, even if it seems like he does. He couldn't return mine if he wanted to."

Orihime's chest tightened. Was that what it meant to be part of Aizen's army? One had to sacrifice their emotions? Grimmjow never talked about it, and neither did Ulquiorra, who she suddenly remembered was standing on the other side of the wall and probably hearing every word they said. Maybe once her personal guard 'cheered up' – unless breaking Grimmjow's nose had appeased him earlier - she could find a very careful way of bringing up the question.

For now, she would address Nel. "Don't be sad, sweetie. You never know," she said soothingly, worrying vaguely that she'd be sent to hell for lying to a child. Did that mean that her brother was doomed to a fiery afterlife for telling her that Santa Claus existed? The water was suddenly way too hot. "I'm going back to my room!" she squeaked. "Work… early tomorrow."

Yoruichi drew closer to comfort Nel as the older girl pulled herself out of the bath. "Good night, Orihime."

Once dried and dressed, Orihime met Ulquiorra at the door and together they walked through the woods back to the main house. "Hey," she glanced at him shyly, "you won't tell Grimmjow anything about what Nel said, right?"

"I prefer not talking to that beast," Ulquiorra answered cryptically. Orihime wasn't sure whether to thank him or not. She saw that he was staring intently at the moon above and decided to look at it too. Big, almost full, covered in craters… she tried to picture him there, among the dusty gray landscape. It seemed to suit him, but would he be able to breathe? The image of him in a spacesuit made her abruptly burst into laughter, which she quickly stifled with a hand over her mouth and shook her head furiously when he gave her a questioning look.

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed very slightly. This was part of her mind game, wasn't it? Oh no, he wasn't going to let her get ahead of him this time. But how would he win? She responded interestingly whenever he did something unpredictable, though she was a strange one and perhaps a little rattled in whatever brain she had, so what would she consider to be unpredictable?

Today she had been surprised by his interest in her happiness. Previously she had been caught off guard by his random questions. Yes… questions. That would work. He could gather information for Lord Aizen while he was it.

Inside the house on the third floor, Grimmjow sat sulking in the living room, holding a bag of ice to his swollen face and half-listening to something Ganju was saying. Orihime quickly bid them good night, wanting to get to sleep as soon as she could. While she wasn't the type to give away secrets intentionally, she did have a habit of letting things slip when she was still over-excited about them, so she would avoid Grimmjow's company until she composed herself. She brushed her teeth carefully, allowed herself two extra minutes to make funny faces in the mirror, then left the bathroom for the dark sleeping quarters in which Ulquiorra already sat by the window.

His gaze flickered towards her briefly as she climbed into bed. _Now_. "Woman,"

She hadn't even laid down yet, poised with the blankets held over her legs. "Yes?"

"Where is Earth in relation to Oz?"

Orihime let out a bit of a frustrated sigh, her brow knitting together. "Hmm. You know what? I'm not exactly sure," she said, dropping the blanket onto her thighs. "I arrived here via tornado, and I was in New Mexico before, not even an hour away from the Arizona border."

Ulquiorra stared at her blankly. "New Mexico and Arizona… they are countries in this Earth of yours?"

"What? No! They're states within a country, though. Do you guys have states here?" He nodded once. Orihime smiled, letting this new piece of information be stored within her brain. "Earth and Oz are very different, but we can see the moon, too. We've even had people walk on it."

"Impossible," Ulquiorra replied curtly.

"No, it's not! We thought so too, but see, all we had to do was load people onto a rocket ship and catapult them into the sky! Isn't that amazing?" Orihime felt her heart racing with excitement. Ulquiorra _liked _the moon, so if she told him about it, maybe she could make him feel better, and not so homicidal with baked goods in hand. "But there's no life up there, despite what many people thought. No air either, and less gravity so the astronauts bounce along as if they could fly." She waved her hands animatedly. "Recently, though, scientists fired missiles at the moon and discovered frozen water among the debris! Of course everyone was freaking out because they thought that the moon would crash into the Earth and we would all die, so…"

"You are off track, woman. I asked a simple question."

She sighed. Right, Ulquiorra was one of those to-the-point types of guys. "Sorry. I can't answer it."

_Then you should have said so to begin with._ It would have been easy to tell her that, but Ulquiorra was playing her mind games. He had to keep up this banter no matter how useless it was. And besides, judging by the fact that she was now sitting cross-legged with her body turned towards him, she was ready to keep talking. "You worry a lot about the heart," he said after a moment of silence. "Why?"

The question truly caught Orihime with her proverbial pants down. She looked out the window at the moon, her fingers pulling idly at the bed cover. "Well," she started slowly, "there are a lot of ways to look at it." She frowned. "For the purely physical, the heart is what keeps us alive. It pumps much needed blood and oxygen and nutrients through our bodies to sustain them, and if it stops beating, we become deprived of these things and subsequently die." Her college vocabulary was coming in handy after all.

"And the heart has other functions?" Ulquiorra asked, not believing there to be any more.

"Sure. It tells you the difference between right and wrong. It lets you know what hurts and what feels good. It remembers things, even when your mind doesn't."

Grimmjow had said the same thing to him the day before. _If you had one, you would understand_. Ulquiorra's muscles tensed, and in a moment he had crossed the room, causing Orihime to topple over in surprise. He caught her wrist before her head connected with the wall behind her and jerked her forward, holding out his other hand to prevent her from crashing into him. "Ulquiorra-san?" she barely whispered, eyes wide, having a flashback to Grimmjow in a similar position, being suffocated with a cupcake. Had her captor's bloodlust not been satisfied after all?

He said nothing, holding her there, staring at the cold hand that had enclosed her tanned wrist. Removing the other from her collarbone, he turned her arm over and placed two fingers against her skin, feeling the rapid thrum of her heart within. "What is it doing here?" He looked up at her. "Your heart is in the wrong place."

Orihime blinked, struggling to think past the intensity of his green eyes. He was _very _close to her. He was _touching_ her. She broke her gaze away and focused her attention on his hand. "Oh! That's just the pulse in my wrist. There are other places in the body where you can feel the heart, but it's still here, in my chest," she said as if trying to convince herself of the same. Surely it had leapt into her throat just now. Yup, there it was, making it increasingly hard for her to breathe as Ulquiorra leaned even closer, releasing her wrist and placing a cold hand flat against her breastbone. "A-Although my brother liked to say that the pulse is in the wrist because it makes your heart easier to give to others!"

Ulquiorra ignored her, staring at the back of his hand. A heart. If he pierced the flesh, he would find it, pounding away. Producing warmth. Feeling things. Was it uncomfortable? Did it hurt to have that thing constantly throbbing like an open wound?

He didn't know. He would never know, and that bothered him more than he had initially realized. Aizen had long ago told him that a heart was a useless thing for a fabricated being who could survive without one, that it made humans weak and stupid. Ulquiorra had seen a number of Espada bested by their own feelings, so he didn't doubt Aizen's words. But this girl talked about the heart as if it could give strength.

Orihime released the breath she had been holding when Ulquiorra pulled away abruptly, walking back to his chair and seating himself wordlessly. Still, she couldn't bring herself to move. What was he thinking? If she asked him, would he tell her? The curiosity was eating at the edges of her sanity.

But Ulquiorra merely spared her a brief look, impassive as ever. "Sleep, woman," he ordered.

How the hell could she?

**To Be Continued**


	12. Bon Voyage

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Bon Voyage**

Orihime had once again struggled to sleep and, much to her dismay, was woken early the next morning by the sound of Kukaku's voice. "Wake up kiddies! Everyone to the living room, pronto! Hop to it! We don't have all day!" This was followed by the clanging of a wooden spoon against some kind of pan.

"Get out of bed, woman," Ulquiorra ordered her when she threw the pillow over her head to block out the noise. She grumbled crankily and lifted it a bit to peer at him. He looked as refreshed as ever.

"Don't you sleep?" she asked him, honestly curious. Every morning he would always be sitting in the same position as she'd seen him the night before. Maybe he was in some kind of self-induced trance? Ulquiorra didn't reply; instead, he pointed out the door in a manner that suggested that he was getting impatient. Orihime sighed and reluctantly slung her legs over the side of the bed, fixing her hair and rubbing the crust from her eyes before standing and following him out into the hall. Grimmjow had just emerged from his room, Yoruichi at his feet and Nel clinging to his back like a baby monkey.

Kukaku blocked the entrance to the living room, the offending wooden spoon and frying pan clenched in her one hand. How had she managed to hit them together? "What's going on?" Yoruichi asked, stifling a yawn. On Grimmjow's back, Nel was nodding off, sliding to one side which caused him to have to readjust her position every few seconds to prevent her from falling.

"Good news!" Kukaku unceremoniously dropped her instruments of torture and reached into the satchel at her waist, withdrawing five small leather folders with official looking emblems on the covers. "Your passports have arrived!"

Orihime blinked, coming fully awake. "Really?"

"Yup!" Kukaku grinned. "No more menial labor for the lot of you! As a matter of fact, you can catch the first ferry out of here to the Spindle region. I'll have Ganju hold it for a few extra minutes in case you wanted to say some goodbyes."

Orihime stared at the passport once it had been given to her. Name, age, basic information, a special note calling her out as the Promised Child, and the picture she and the others had been forced to take two days earlier. She couldn't believe that they had already been in town for almost a week. It made her sad, thinking that she would have to leave behind the friendly townspeople and the bakery.

Ulquiorra said nothing as he took his and immediately slipped it into one of his jacket's inner pockets. "The first ferry would be ideal," he said emotionlessly, ever mindful of their time limit. Tonight was the full moon. Lord Aizen was bound to be waiting for them in the Spindle region.

"Finally!" Grimmjow cried, startling Nel awake. He handed back her passport. "Ship repairs can kiss my ass! I'm ready to fight someone!"

Kukaku rolled her eyes. "May I remind you that those ships were torn apart by one of your very own? Be a little more considerate, you jackass. Men are dying out there."

Grimmjow snorted. "I may be built like them, but I sure as hell ain't one of them."

"What is this?" Nel murmured sleepily.

"Your passport, cutie pie." Kukaku pinched her cheek. "You're one step closer to the Emerald City!"

Orihime felt a bit of a twinge in her chest. That's right. She was headed towards the Emerald City, to the Wizard, and home just on the horizon. She bit her lower lip and clutched the passport tightly. The last few days of work had been so much fun that she'd almost forgotten her goal. She had to get out of Oz, away from these people and their strife, because the longer she stayed the harder it would be to leave.

Ulquiorra noticed her spaced out look. So she was beginning to sway, was she? He would have to tell Lord Aizen when the time came. Did his orders to stop her from compromising his master's objectives override his orders to keep her safe? He followed her as she walked back to her room in somewhat of a daze. She was headed right into the doorframe; didn't she see it? He took a longer stride and held his arm out to prevent her from hitting it, startling her. "Oh!" She looked back at him. "Thank you." He said nothing, but the moment she diverted her attention elsewhere, he stared down at his hand.

_I did not command you to move, _he thought sternly, then shoved it into his pants pocket.

Orihime showered quickly and dressed as fast as she could. The first ferry was in less than an hour, and she had to pack her things before going to the bakery to say her goodbyes. She tried to remain objective about this – after all, she still didn't know if Oz was real, or if she was in a coma somewhere having a very twisted dream – but all she should think about was how much she would miss Kukaku and Ganju, Mrs. Hopkins and the other bakers… and whether or not they would be able to hold their own against the warlock.

"Ulquiorra-san," she had paused in her packing to look up at him, only to find that he was still staring at his hand. Was there something wrong with it? "Would you be mad if I said I wanted to help the people of Oz?"

"I would not be much of anything, woman. My orders come from Lord Aizen," he said, talking to his palm.

"Is your hand okay?"

"Yes," Ulquiorra replied, but he didn't sound so sure. Orihime put down her folded jeans and walked over to him, staring down at his hand as well. It looked fine to her. They shared a silent moment, gazes fixed on his palm. She had this sudden thought that the lines would suddenly rearrange into an ominous message, horror movie-style: **Eat your peas and carrots.** With a loud and painful snort, she burst into hysterical laughter, finally breaking Ulquiorra's fixation with his "possessed" limb as he turned his head to glare at her. "What is so funny, woman?"

Orihime tried to tell him it was nothing, but she could only laugh harder, taking two steps away from him before collapsing onto her knees, clutching her sides. He was probably going to be mad at her. Sharing such a ridiculous thought would just make things worse.

Ulquiorra stood from his chair and yanked Orihime to her feet, turning her to face him. "You will stop laughing right now and tell me what you find so humorous."

To his surprise, she didn't cower away like she usually did. Instead, she merely grinned at him, eyes full of tears and glee. "I don't think you would understand," she confessed, using her free hand to wipe at her eyes.

_If you had one, you would understand. _Ulquiorra's grip on her arm tightened and he pulled her closer, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?" His voice had lowered, causing the smile to slip off of Orihime's face. She had been expecting annoyance, but only his usual passive anger, not this. He sounded like he was about to lose his temper. "Are you trying to call yourself superior to me? You, a brittle human whose life I could end whenever I please?"

Orihime shook her head quickly. "N-No, I wasn't!" Her eyes darted to her arm caught painfully in his iron grip.

"What, then?" he demanded, his eyes so cold and green with those narrow black slits in the center, chilling her to the very core. He could feel it beneath his hand: her heart, beating fast and hard, fear lacing the blood churning through her veins. "Speak, woman."

"Ulquiorra-san, you're hurting me!" Orihime whimpered.

And once again, his hand moved on its own, releasing her without him telling it to do so. Ulquiorra suddenly felt as if he were watching this scene unfold from a distance: Orihime backing away from him until she toppled onto the bed, her free hand rubbing her aching arm; and him standing there, frozen, his mouth open with what suspiciously felt like an apology on the tip of his tongue. There was something about this scene that he did not like. Was it the stricken look on her face? The fact that he had almost been compelled to say sorry to someone who wasn't his superior? Or was it that strange, foreign feeling in his gut, as if the body that Aizen had built to be impervious to disease were going to be sick? "Finish packing," he ordered her icily before promptly removing himself from the room. Duty-bound to watch the Promised Child or not, he needed to get away from her.

Meanwhile, Yoruichi had seen Ulquiorra retreat from the room and took the opportunity to run inside. Immediately she noticed the look on Orihime's face. "Hey, what happened?" She jumped onto the bed and nuzzled the girl's cheek. "Did he do anything to you?"

Orihime knew she could have told Yoruichi what had just transpired, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. It hadn't been her imagination; her words had upset him. In the instant before he had grabbed her arm, she'd seen the flash of anger that he had been unable to fully put a lid on as he held her with that barely restrained strength. "No," she answered, forcing a smile to her face. "He just went to get some fresh air."

Yoruichi frowned. He finally let Orihime out of his sight to _get some fresh air_? Did that guy even _breathe_? "Look, I know you probably don't want to talk about this now, but I don't know when I'll get the chance to speak with you alone again, so it's best that I get this off my chest."

"Wait, Yoruichi-san, I wanted to say something too," Orihime blurted out. "The truth is, I want to help." She took in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "I don't know how I _can _help, but Mrs. Hopkins and the people I met here… they're my friends, and so are you, Grimmjow, Nel, and even Ulquiorra-san." Though she wasn't too sure about that last one. But aside from his surprisingly emotional display, he had become kinder over the past week, to a degree. "I don't want anyone to suffer because I was too lazy and scared to do something for the good of this world."

Yoruichi settled into her lap, assuming her role as the faithful friend she had taken on five years before. "You don't know how happy that makes me."

Orihime smiled and rubbed her ears. "I'll do my best."

Only now, Ulquiorra was in a bad mood, and she had a feeling that no amount of mysteriously flavored cupcakes was going to help.

…

Orihime faced a very tearful goodbye to Mrs. Hopkins and her employees, who presented her with a basket of goods for the road and wished her well on her journey. She felt like a sap for blubbering so much, but for all she knew, she might not ever see them again. She also tactfully avoided questions about the bruise on her upper arm.

Now fully awake, Nel ran around the ferry boat in her new dress, crying out and pointing joyfully at the fish in the water. "I've never been on a cruise before!" she told Orihime before bolting in another direction, Grimmjow following at a distance that was both far enough to avoid her and close enough to make sure she didn't fall off of the boat. Ulquiorra had reverted to normal, quiet and standing at about a two-person length from Orihime, arms crossed.

The ferry was rather anticlimactic. After waiting so long to be able to ride it, the trip only lasted about an hour, and once docked in the Spindle region, Ganju approached with two soldiers flanking him. "As promised," he said, and the two soldiers presented Ulquiorra and Grimmjow with their blades. "You guys be careful, okay? There are rumors that Spindle's getting pretty heated with all the generals around."

"We'll be alright. Thanks for everything, Ganju," Yoruichi said.

"Ah, before you go…" He turned and began rummaging for something, then withdrew a small vial from among his charts and graphs. "A gift from The Great Wizard. Apparently he's worried about you."

Orihime took the vial for Yoruichi. "Oh! Isn't this the potion that makes you human again?"

"It is." The cat stared at the colored liquid sloshing around in its clear container. _Kisuke_… of course he was worried, that bastard. He wouldn't let her go into a war area in such a helpless form. She vaguely wondered if there were any restrictions attached to this one, too.

Grimmjow approached then, carrying a seasick Nel over his shoulder. "Let's get off of this damn boat before the munchkin decides to puke on me," he grunted.

The coastal town on the edge of the Spindle region was a lot bigger than Lakeside. People were everywhere, collected on street corners discussing news and politics, some carefree while others whispered worriedly about the impending war, wondering if their city would come under attack. Ulquiorra, now in charge again, led the group through the town wordlessly. With nothing holding them back for their travels, their destination today was a village located five days from the Emerald City – without traffic, which there was bound to be.

Orihime kept her eyes downcast for most of the trip, though she would occasionally send a glance Ulquiorra's way. He was unhappy, she knew. What should she do or say to cheer him up? What had she even done to offend him? She looked up at Grimmjow, who had set Nel down a few minutes after they had left the coastal town. "Say, Grimmjow," she whispered, "is there anything that annoys Ulquiorra-san?"

Both he and Yoruichi turned their heads toward her. "Well, he hates lazy people like me who don't follow orders when they're supposed to," he whispered back, mindful of the fact that Ulquiorra may have been at a distance, but could probably still hear them. "Other than that, bastard's got no preferences."

"Oh." Orihime wracked her brain for a moment. He wasn't mad at her for that; it was what she had said to him, that he wouldn't understand her innocent joke. But that was no reason for such an overreaction. Was there something on his mind that was weighing him down, she thought? She could try asking him tonight, though she doubted he would respond. He wasn't the world's biggest chatterbox to begin with, and talking about personal issues that he may or may not have had could trigger his wrath.

She closed her eyes, remembering the previous night. The way he had felt her pulse through her wrist and her chest, the questions he'd asked. He'd been so gentle with her, despite the fact that he had been close enough to kill. And then he'd let her go so quickly, as if breaking free from some spell. He was curious about the heart, so much so that he did things without thinking; that, for a brief moment, he had lost his control.

Of course. That's what he was bothered by. Ulquiorra hated to lose control. Orihime had witnessed it when they had entered Kukaku's authority upon reaching Lakeside: the cold anger, boiling beneath the surface, unable to reach his face.

And for some reason, she wanted to break away from Grimmjow, Yoruichi and Nel. She wanted to walk next to Ulquiorra, to tell him it was alright. It was impossible to stay in control all the time, but that wasn't something to be angry about. If anything, it made him seem more human.

Oh, but he hated humans, didn't he? She stared down at her feet sadly. No, she couldn't say that to him. She'd momentarily forgotten who she was dealing with.

Ahead of them, Ulquiorra had clearly heard the question, as well as Grimmjow's flippant answer. He would deal with him later. What he simply could not figure out was why the Promised Child had asked such a question. What did it matter, the things that annoyed him? Why did _she _need to know? He could easily have taken it as an attempt at finding a weakness in him; weaknesses that did not exist. But somehow, his analytical mind skipped that option, instead lining it up with what he knew of the girl's character. From this he gathered that she was trying to get on his good side, perhaps worried that she had offended him.

Ulquiorra almost stopped walking when he felt that familiar, vaguely sick sensation grip his insides. He had to resist the urge to rip his gut open and find out what was causing it. It seemed to occur whenever he thought of the incident that morning, of the terrified look on the girl's face, the fear in her voice when she'd said that he was hurting her.

And another thing: why hadn't she told anyone? Number Six was the type of buffoon who made good on his threats, even if he was outmatched in strength and wit. The cat was also fiercely protective of the Promised Child. Yet they seemed to remain unaware of what had transpired just a few hours before. Had she not told them? He had frightened her, he had hurt her, and she hadn't told anyone? Oh, there was the sick feeling again.

Ulquiorra quickly silenced every one of his thoughts except for one: he had a mission to carry out tonight, a very specific mission. He quickened his pace, feeling impatient. The faster they got to the Emerald City, the less time he would have to spend with that girl, her intricate mind games and her fragile, easily broken heart.

…

The one-story lodge they stopped at that night was at the edge of a wood so thick with overgrowth that the yellow brick road could hardly be seen through the brush. Unfortunately, a now human Yoruichi said before they split into their respective rooms, they would have to fight their way across it.

Orihime was sort of glad she wasn't spending the night with them; human Yoruichi intimidated her with her exotic beauty. It was still so hard to believe that she was her beloved cat, even when she opened her mouth and the same voice came through. But she had a little more to worry about than that. Ulquiorra hadn't spoken a word to her when they had entered their room, taking a seat by the window, which had a perfect view of the full moon. She spent her entire time in the shower trying to figure out what she could possibly say to get him to loosen up a bit.

But when Orihime stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a tank top and shorts for sleeping, she was surprised to find that Ulquiorra was gone. The window had been left wide open. She ran to it, searching the bright night before finding him standing at the edge of the forest. He looked back at her briefly, then disappeared into the trees.

She knew that following him could not have been a wise choice, but her legs were out the window before she could think against it. She dropped harmlessly to the ground a foot or so below and began running towards the spot where she had last seen him. The clearing ended, replaced by a nightmare of gnarled trees and their thick roots protruding from the ground. Orihime stumbled, tripped, felt thorns and branches slicing at her arms but she continued nonetheless. Where was he going? She caught a glimpse of him about a yard away before he was out of sight again. Her heart was pounding, afflicted by two very different emotions: fear of what she would discover upon catching up to him, and the anxious need to do so nonetheless.

Orihime yelped as she fell into a new clearing, one that she was positive could not have been a natural part of the forest. There was light here; several glowing flames floated in the air, held up by magic. She pulled herself up to her feet, and she couldn't believe her eyes.

A finely decorated table, at the end of which sat a tall man with brown hair and glasses, a kind smile on his face. Orihime had never met this person in her life, but she knew who he was without a single doubt in her mind. The eerie, soulless look of his eyes, unwelcome on his gentle countenance. The way Ulquiorra moved to his side and stood quietly, faithfully, out of the way. "Orihime Inoue… please, sit down." The man gestured towards the chair opposite him and it pulled away from the table, waiting for her to occupy it. "I would love to get to know you better."

Ulquiorra had led her straight into Warlock Aizen's hands.

**To Be Continued**


	13. Too Much Twang for Midnight

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or The Wizard of Oz!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Too Much Twang for Midnight**

Orihime was not a fast runner, and even if she was, she knew that she wouldn't be unable to outrun Ulquiorra, who stood staring at her neither expectantly nor impatiently. Judging by the way he had rejoined Aizen, as if he had never left the man's side, she determined that if she did try to flee he'd more than likely give chase. Besides, some magical barrier had probably already been erected to prevent her from escaping the flame-lit clearing. Taking the open chair in front of the feared warlock was quickly becoming her only option.

Aizen's smile broadened, his dead eyes crinkling at the corners like those of a father watching his child unwrap a Christmas present. "Come on, I don't bite," he prodded gently, making a come-hither motion with his index finger. Orihime yelped in surprise as an invisible force suddenly pushed her across the clearing until she was grasping the empty chair to regain her balance.

In her proximity to the warlock, her tongue became unstuck, remembering that she had a tendency to ramble when she was nervous. "I'm sorry! I just… wasn't expecting this, really. I-If I were, I would have dressed a lot nicer, I assure you! Though, come to think of it, I haven't exactly bought myself anything formal while here in Oz, and I guess I don't know what constitutes as formal here, so I would have been lost either way," she babbled as she lowered herself into the chair.

Aizen cut Ulquiorra a look. "Cute," he said, to which the stoic Espada did not reply. Instead, he waved his hand and a chalice appeared in it. He took a sip of whatever was inside – it smelled fruity to Orihime, who squirmed anxiously in her chair, wishing that someone would notice that she was missing and come looking for her. "Tell me, Ms. Inoue – is it alright if I call you that?"

"Oh! Sure! Whatever you want," Orihime squeaked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear self-consciously.

Aizen nodded. "Have you been enjoying your stay in Oz?" he asked companionably, the nearby flames flickering eerily in the reflection of his glasses. "Has Ulquiorra been treating you well?"

At this, Orihime spared the silent Espada a glance, but he remained perfectly motionless. It was as if he had become stone. "Of course he has." She wished that he would look at her; that he would acknowledge her, somehow; reassure her that he had brought her here for a good reason. His eyes stayed fixed ahead on some unknown point in the woods.

"That's good!" Aizen cried, startling her as he leaned forward, swishing the contents of his chalice around. "I was a little concerned that he wouldn't be very hospitable. Ulquiorra has no heart, you see," he smiled fondly at his silent creation, "so I was thinking that perhaps he might have been a little too cold for someone as _sunny_ as yourself."

"I don't mind?" she tried uncertainly.

Aizen chuckled. His head turned upwards, cold gaze contemplating the full moon. "Now, Ms. Inoue, I know that you have been traveling with the forces of Oz for some time, and you have probably heard all sorts of horrible things about me. The truth, however, is that I am not that bad of a person; I'm actually rather generous, letting you, my supposed enemy, walk about so freely. And you can rest assured that I will continue to provide you that security."

Orihime's eyes widened, her mouth falling open. "R-Really?"

"Certainly," Aizen set the chalice down on the table. Orihime tried to see what the drink was, but all she caught were the dancing flames on the liquid's surface. "So long as you are headed to the Emerald City strictly to ask the Wizard for a passage home, you are no threat to me. Why should I harm such a beautiful young woman if she has no ill intent towards me?" He held out his arms in a questioning gesture. "I trust you, Ms. Inoue, and I would love for you to trust me as well. In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Now Orihime found herself leaning a bit closer, wondering what sort of grisly secrets this evil man was keeping. Aizen inched forward as well, as if they were two elementary school children sharing a playground scandal. "Are you wondering how I can use magic without a wand?" he asked. She blinked, searched his hands and coat and the table, but saw nothing resembling the stick that Rukia had brandished. Finally, she shook her head. Aizen's smile faded. "Ah, could it be that you possibly didn't know? Allow me to inform you, then." He put his elbows up on the table, fingers lacing beneath his chin. "In Oz, in order for witches, wizards, sorcerers and warlocks to use their magical abilities, they need a wand. It channels the magic from their bodies and sends it out into their surroundings."

"Makes sense," Orihime said, paying close attention. This could be a useful bit of information to give to the others… when she got a minute away from Ulquiorra. She looked up at him again, her heart fluttering uncomfortably. He had brought her here, to the enemy, without a single warning.

And to think that she had been considering trusting him…

"I, on the other hand, do not need a wand." Aizen continued, unaware of her distraught feelings. "I have something _better_." He placed his palms flat down on the table, and suddenly a portion of it began to rise, peeling away from the surface. Orihime scooted her chair back in surprise, watching as the raised portion formed into an elaborately decorated box. Satisfied with her reaction, Aizen removed the box's lid. "Look."

Whatever it was, it had a bright glow to it. Orihime peered into the box, her eyes landing on the small, beautiful jewel inside. "It's lovely," she said honestly, looking up at Aizen for an explanation.

"Indeed it is." He extracted it from the box and reached forward, gingerly taking Orihime's hand into his own and turning it palm up so that he could place the jewel on it. "This is an invention of the Wizard's, called the hougyoku," he explained as she felt the weight of the glowing orb. "I used to be his apprentice, some decades in the past. Back then he was researching methods of taking magic from one's body without using a wand, and this was the final product of his experiments."

"So you stole it from him," Orihime said, point-blank. Aizen's eyes narrowed as his smile broadened.

"No, of course not," he waved his hand dismissively. "The Wizard gave this to me to see if it worked, and it did."

Was she honestly expected to believe that? Orihime let out a quiet 'oh,' nodding and making a point of pretending she did. Aizen held out his hand again and she returned the jewel to him. "That's an interesting device, but why would you show it to me?"

The older man placed the orb into the box, which then melted back into the table. "Because," he placed his hand over hers, "I trust you, Ms. Inoue, and I wanted you to know just how much."

Suddenly, his head whipped in Ulquiorra's direction, and the rapid change in the atmosphere – a thick tension causing the magic torches to flicker – did not go unnoticed by Orihime. She looked at the motionless Espada as well. He seemed no different, his iridescent green eyes still focused on the edge of the woods, but an amused grin was slowly making its way onto Aizen's face. "Did you have something you wanted to add, Ulquiorra?"

"No Master," he responded tonelessly.

Aizen said nothing in response, his gaze lowering to Ulquiorra's foot, which had moved at least two centimeters forward the moment he'd placed his hand over Orihime's. _Interesting_, he thought, teasingly stroking her skin with his thumb. This time, the pale sentry did not flinch in the slightest. He removed his hand. "Well then, I suppose I should get going," he said as he turned back to the confused redhead. "If you are headed to the Emerald City, you still have a few days of travel ahead of you, and I wouldn't want that to be delayed because you haven't slept sufficiently."

"Right," Orihime said as they both stood and the table, the chairs, and all but two of the magical flames disappeared. "Thank you for, uh, trusting me."

"No, thank _you _for taking the time to entertain a conversation with me," Aizen turned to go, patting Ulquiorra on the shoulder once, and glanced back at her, his eyes almost black behind his glasses. "Have a safe journey, Orihime Inoue." Then he disappeared, the flames and the clearing going with him, leaving Orihime standing in the midst of two thick trees with gnarled branches that were wrapping around each other.

"Oh!" She took a step backwards, trying to let her eyes get adjusted to the darkness. The woods were so thick that not even a sliver of moonlight came through. Sounds of Oz creatures moving about in the shadows set her nerves on edge, and she whirled around, wondering which way she had come from. "U-Ulquiorra-san?" she called out timidly, then stopped herself. Did she want to be alone in the woods with him at the moment? The thought wasn't all too appealing.

In fact, she could honestly say that her feelings were hurt. Here they had been getting along somewhat well for the last few days – awkward incidents aside – and he had turned traitor the very instant that his master had come about. But had she really expected anything less? Ulquiorra was still their captor, their escort, leading the group to the Emerald City for the sake of keeping an eye on them. He had never once declared loyalty to any cause other than Warlock Aizen's.

Orihime sighed and began moving again. She could see a little better in the darkness, enough so that she wasn't tripping over anything, anyway. Her foot would occasionally snag on a root, but she was able to yank it free without much difficulty. What was she going to do? Should she tell Yoruichi and the others about this? That would be the logical thing, but the memory of Aizen's soulless eyes caused a shiver to run down her spine, the thought rejected immediately. He could hurt them, she thought. Just because he had promised to keep _her _safe didn't mean that her friends would be spared any kindness.

It wasn't fair. If she stayed in Oz and helped fight, if Ulquiorra caught even the slightest whiff that she had allied with the others while he was out of the room, they would all be killed. If she left Oz and went home, insisting that whatever happened here was none of her business, this entire world would be overrun by the evil warlock.

But who was to stay that she wasn't dreaming, or in a coma, or dead? She had doubted the existence of Oz practically since she had arrived, and there was absolutely nothing that could convince her that she wasn't lying in a hospital bed somewhere, or a splatter of bones and guts on the side of the road. Sure she had been hurt, felt pain, and bled a little bit, but her dreams had always been vivid.

"You are going the wrong way, woman."

With a gasp, Orihime turned and saw Ulquiorra standing a short distance away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable. He was waiting for her. And of course, she was expected to follow, but her feet would not move, weighed down as if tied to cinderblocks. She felt like a child who had just found a lump of coal in her stocking. "Why?" Her voice was small and weak and sad.

Ulquiorra didn't blink, didn't sigh, didn't relax his body for even a second. "Because I was ordered to."

"I thought you were ordered to escort me, to keep me safe," Orihime whispered. A long silence stretched out between them, punctuated by the occasional skitters or cry of an animal in the distance. Then Ulquiorra spoke again.

"Ridiculous," he said frigidly, "I am to get you to the Emerald City, and that is all. If you die along the way, it is because of your own carelessness." The girl's head lowered, face hidden behind a curtain of hair. Ulquiorra ignored the unsettled feeling in his gut, the same that had prompted him to take that half-step forward when Aizen had touched her hand, choosing instead to be angered with her for causing him to defy his creator by moving against him. Aizen wasn't stupid; the pat on the shoulder as he'd departed had been a warning: _Would you dare to bare your fangs at the one who gave you life_? But he saw now that Orihime did not seem too keen on moving, and so he amended his cold declaration. "Regardless, Lord Aizen had no intention of hurting you. Or were you not listening to a word he said?"

Orihime sighed. "Yes, you're right" She began walking towards him, wondering why she felt so utterly disappointed, why she had allowed herself to be stupid enough to hope for something more. "Let's go."

…

After a fitful night of sleep, Orihime followed Ulquiorra into the lobby of the lodge and found Yoruichi, Grimmjow and Nel already there. Yoruichi was engaged in a conversation with the innkeeper, while the munchkin and the former Espada sat across from each other at a table, arguing and wagging spoons at each other. "I'm telling you, I'm not cheating! You're just a wuss!" Nel cried, crossing her short arms.

"And I'm telling you that there's no way you could hit that hard!" Grimmjow pointed his spoon at her accusingly. "Here," he lowered his head, "try again!"

Nel rolled her large green eyes and stuck the flat end of the spoon between her teeth, climbing up onto the table. "Don't cry or anything."

"Would you hurry up?" Grimmjow snapped.

"What are you two doing?" Orihime asked, just as Nel snapped her head down and whacked Grimmjow with the rounded end of the spoon. His shoulders flinched, and when he glared up at her Orihime swore she saw one of his eyes watering.

"Didn't even feel it!"

Nel removed the utensil from her mouth. "We're playing spoons!" she said happily, shaking hers for emphasis. "The object of the game is to hit the other person on the head as hard as you can with the spoon, using only your mouth. This idiot keeps complaining because I'm much better at it than him." She nodded proudly as Grimmjow grumbled something about jaw strength. "Want to play?"

"Uh… I think I'll pass," Orihime said with a smile, though she couldn't help but watch as Nel lowered her head for Grimmjow, who had stuck the spoon between his teeth.

"Ready for this, munchkin?"

Nel grinned up at him. "Make it worth my time, doofus!" He scowled and, after a second or two, slammed the spoon down on her skull. The little girl didn't bat an eyelash. "Is that all?" she cooed, propping her chin up on her hand. "My grandma could do better than that, and she doesn't even have teeth!"

Orihime blinked. "You have a grandma, Nel?"

The little girl looked up at her, then back down. "Oh, uh," her brow furrowed, Orihime staring at her expectantly and Grimmjow frowning. "I guess I… did?" Nel whimpered and lifted her hands to her hair. "M-My head hurts!"

"It's okay, sweetie!" Orihime rushed forward and scooped her up into her arms, patting her back soothingly. Then she glared at Grimmjow. "You hit her too hard!"

"The fuck I did! She wasn't complaining a second ago!" he snapped in response, pushing his chair away from the table and standing, skulking off with his hands in his pockets. "Damn brat!"

Orihime sighed, hearing a miserable sniffle come from the munchkin. Poor thing. With the crush that she had on Grimmjow, Orihime guessed that those words hurt a lot worse than he meant them to. "Don't worry about him," she said to Nel with a sympathetic smile, "he's just a brute." Then she surveyed the lobby, realizing that Ulquiorra had disappeared. She found him standing by the desk, having what looked like an argument with Yoruichi, the helpless innkeeper watching them nervously. She quickly made her way over to them.

"Look, it's on the way, so I don't see what you're getting so uptight about," Yoruichi growled, tapping her fingers against the counter impatiently.

"You forget your place, General Shihoin. _I _am the one who decides where your party shall be traveling," Ulquiorra shot back without a hint of anger. "If you have a problem with that, you can feel free to move about on your own. The Promised Child stays with me."

"It'll be a cold day in hell-!"

"Guys, what are you fighting about?" Orihime interrupted them, smoothing down Nel's hair – an impossible task, considering its wild nature.

Yoruichi sighed. "Alright Hime, since you're the object of interest here, why don't _you _convince this block of ice that we should go through Overton?"

"Overton," Ulquiorra turned his level gaze to Orihime, "is currently occupied by Oz military forces. I do not need the lot of you fraternizing with Lord Aizen's enemies."

She considered this, looking down at Nel, who blinked up at her curiously. "Well," she closed her eyes. "I'm the only one you have to worry about, right? And I've already promised that I'll have nothing to do with this war, so I really don't see a problem with going there, aside from you and Grimmjow having to give up your weapons again." He opened his mouth to counter her, but she interrupted him. "Look, I'll stay in your sight at all times, and I won't try anything funny. You can even isolate me from the others if you want – "

"Orihime!"

"But this is important to Yoruichi-san, so please, humor her just this once?" Her eyes met his. "Or do you not trust me?"

Ulquiorra stared at her for a long while, the gears in his mind working furiously. Something wasn't right. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but there was something different about the woman. Well, he supposed it was to be expected. He'd finally managed to snap her out of any childish delusions regarding his character. The cat woman must have noticed as well, as her golden eyes were stuck on the girl's slouching posture. "Very well," he said slowly, then turned and made for the door. "If you are all done wasting time, we will go now."

Yoruichi took a step towards Orihime once Ulquiorra had gotten a safe distance away. "Hey… are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Orihime let Nel down onto the ground gently, then stood straight and squared her shoulders. "Ulquiorra is our captor, not our ally. We can't reason with him the way we can with Grimmjow." Though it would have been nice if they could.

Gathering up their things, they disembarked from the lodge a few minutes later, stepping back onto the Yellow Brick Road. Straight ahead was the mass of woods, and just past that, a snow-capped mountain range stretched up towards the sky, half of it blocked out by low-hanging clouds. Orihime sighed. They were getting dangerously close to Aizen's territory; he would be watching them, without a doubt, with those cold, cruel eyes. Her stomach fluttered nervously at the memory of her exchange with him the night before.

He'd been so close and no one had sensed him at all. It couldn't have been an illusion, as he had touched her hand twice, and felt pretty solid each time. He'd be a powerful and fearsome opponent, but if she was the only person in Oz who could defeat him, then she had to try.

But since the meeting in the woods had ended, there had been a question on her mind. She'd been wearing the Six-Petal Flowers when she talked to him. Heck, she could have sworn that he had looked at them once or twice. The very weapons that were capable of destroying him had been within his grasp; he could have easily attacked her right then and taken the hairpins. So why in the world hadn't he? Was he really just going to let her go, or did the sinister warlock have something else in store for her?

Her stomach twisted nervously to one side, and she glared sullenly at Ulquiorra's back as they headed for the edge of the forest. She couldn't trust him… she wanted to, but he had made it perfectly clear to her that he wasn't one to put any faith into. Instinctively, she reached up and placed her hand over her heart, feeling its steady beat.

Could having no heart really make a person so unreasonable? She had managed to convince him to alter their course, but would she ever be able to sway him to their side?

**To Be Continued**

**A/N: **Looks like she hasn't given up on him entirely. :D

The title for this chapter stems from a conversation I had one night with my roommate. The TV was on and they were showing one of those thirty-minute infomercials for a "country's greatest love songs" compilation. Usually I love country, but after about ten minutes of the classics I turned the TV off, complaining to my roommate that it was "too much twang for midnight," which oddly fit this chapter nicely.


	14. A Matter of Trust

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, The Wizard of Oz, or any other copyrighted material mentioned in this story.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**A Matter of Trust**

"La-la-la… throwing pebbles and my daddy said stay away from Juliet, and I was… da-da-da… begging you, please don't _go_!" Nel sang loudly as the not-so-merry troop ventured towards the mountains of Oz. It had been two days since they had set out for Overton, and after several campaigns of "I'm bored!" the munchkin had finally been given something to entertain herself with: Orihime's iPod. Miraculously, it had been spared Ulquiorra's wrath – he'd given it a wary glance, but said nothing – and the green-haired girl was now committing several songs to memory.

Yoruichi, having spent five years on Earth, knew the song and hummed along quietly. Grimmjow was glaring daggers at Orihime, having already voiced his complaints about the device and Nel's lisped singing numerous times. "Oi," he'd grumbled under his breath, "I hope you're proud of yourself. Now she's _never _going to shut up." But even anger hadn't robbed him of his fascination with the lime green rectangle, and he would occasionally steal the iPod in order to "quiet Nel down" while he searched for a song or two to drown out the silence of the trip.

Ulquiorra, on the other hand, went about the matter as scientifically as always. "I understand that the white dress has something to do with human wedding ceremonies, but why does the singer refer to herself as two different people? Who is this Romeo, and why is he throwing stones at her? Has she committed a crime?"

Yoruichi had found his questions absolutely hilarious, but Orihime couldn't quite muster up the same enthusiasm as always. She had been rather blue since the Aizen incident, often staring at the backs of Ulquiorra's feet as they trekked, the terrain gradually changing from flat valley to foothills. All around them, the mountains of Oz loomed like walls waiting to close in and trap them; Aizen's fortress invisible, yet present along the peaks. It didn't help that Ulquiorra hadn't volunteered to start any conversations with her, perfectly content to sit quietly as she went straight to bed after offering him a 'good night' out of sheer courtesy. She'd had trouble sleeping lately, which he probably noticed but didn't bother to comment on.

"We should have been in Overton by now," Yoruichi said thoughtfully as Nel skipped ahead, waving her hands in time to a cheerful Japanese pop song.

Orihime looked at her. "Do you think we took a wrong turn?" she asked, then bit down on her bottom lip and glanced at Ulquiorra. She had just indirectly insulted his sense of direction, which she was sure he would say was quite superb. He didn't even humor her with a response.

"No," Yoruichi observed their surroundings. "According to the landmarks, we're about where the town should be, unless they packed up and moved the entire settlement."

Orihime was beginning to consider the possibility; they _were _in war time, and had she been living anywhere near the action, she would have wanted to move as quickly as she could. But at that precise moment, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Slowing down, she checked to see if anyone else had noticed: Ulquiorra hadn't broken his steady pace, Nel was boogying a few feet behind him, Grimmjow was stretching and Yoruichi was still frowning at the mountains as if she would find a flashing neon sign pointing out their destination. Thinking that perhaps she had caught sight of an Overton citizen – or in the likeliest case, some kind of bird – Orihime allowed herself to look in the direction of the movement…

…and found herself staring at a tall, silver-haired figure wearing a traditional Japanese kitsune mask. She squealed so loudly that it echoed off of nearby cliffs, startling a flock of birds and obliterating any hopes at discretion. "Orihime?" Yoruichi and Grimmjow had started back towards her, but it was Ulquiorra who got there first, appearing in front of her and following her pointing finger to the edge of the woods. He sighed.

"Woman, there is nothing there."

"A-A-A man… a man w-with a mask," she stammered as Yoruichi put her arms around her shoulders. "There was a man with a mask!"

Ulquiorra peered into the forest a moment longer, then lifted his hand. Mimicking her point, a burst of green light shot forward from the tip of his index finger, tearing apart a mile of trees before a massive explosion resounded in the distance. "If there was, there isn't now," he said calmly, and turned away again.

Nel, having heard neither shout nor explosion, looked back and blinked in surprise. "Did I miss something?" she asked as Ulquiorra passed her.

"Geez," Grimmjow muttered, scratching his head as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Orihime. "What the hell did you do to him, woman? He's been pretty agitated lately, and being that Ice Man is incapable of getting agitated, that's saying something."

Orihime stared at her feet. "Is that so? Well, I wouldn't know. He doesn't really talk to me about anything." She checked herself, having heard the spite in her tone. There was no reason to blame Ulquiorra for following orders just because her heart was now sporting a bandaid. Perhaps under different circumstances she could have praised his loyalty.

Besides, he had kind of stuck up for her just now, attacking the stranger in the woods without any proof of its existence. But that was probably an act of duty, too.

It didn't take long after the initial commotion for a group of Oz soldiers to come running down the Yellow Brick Road in full armor, set on investigating the source of the explosion. The moment they laid eyes on Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, they froze and scrambled several paces back, calling out battle plans and formations as the black-haired Espada continued walking forward, as if the men were a part of the scenery. "Wait," Orihime yelled weakly, holding out her hand to stop both parties before any toes could be stepped on. But in the end, the person to stop the brewing battle was someone else entirely.

"Slow down, boys! Let's see what we've got here!" The crowd of soldiers began to part, and after some moments a busty blond stumbled onto the scene, her fist clenched around the neck of a mostly empty alcohol bottle. Staring at the motley crew assembled on the road – two Espada, a munchkin, and two women – she attempted to snap her fingers as realization dawned on her. "Oh, hey, it's the Promised Child!" she cried, her free hand flopping excitedly. Whirling around to face the men – and nearly falling on her butt in the process – the intoxicated woman began barking out orders. "Get your faces on the ground, numbnuts! You're in the presence of royalty!"

Orihime leaned over to Yoruichi as the soldiers glanced at each other uncertainly. "Who is that?"

"You're looking at Rangiku Matsumoto, lieutenant of the Tenth Division under General Toshiro Hitsugaya. She's got a bit of a drinking problem," Yoruichi informed her.

"I can tell." Orihime stepped forward, past Ulquiorra, whose green eyes she felt trained on her back as she approached the yelling woman. Her poor troop was kneeling slowly, obviously unsure whether or not they were supposed to follow such orders. "That's not necessary," Orihime said, her hands out in front of her for protection, "really. Please get up."

Rangiku gave her a lopsided smile. "Alright. But only because the Promised Child says so." She attempted to salute her, but ended up smacking herself in the forehead. "Ouch. It's an honor to meet your acquaintance, PC! Do you have a name that you go by?"

"Orihime," the girl answered with an amused grin. "Uh, these are my friends," she gestured behind her, "General Yoruichi Shihoin, the munchkin Nel, the ex-Espada Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, and the current Espada Ulquiorra Cifer. We were on our way to Overton. Could you tell us if we're headed in the right direction?"

"Pfft! Could I? My division is currently stationed there!" Rangiku laughed good-naturedly. "We'd gotten word that you were headed this way, and then we were sent by my oh-so-adorable boss to investigate the explosion in the woods."

Yoruichi and Grimmjow pointed at Ulquiorra, who didn't even blink. Nel wiggled along to another song on Orihime's iPod. "Well, that was our escort, but it was actually my fault. I said that I had seen a man at the edge of the woods wearing a fox mask."

Rangiku's smile wavered. "You don't say?" She pushed her fingers through her strawberry blond hair. "Aren't you lucky! You managed to encounter the phantom of these here woods on your first walkthrough! Maybe he was curious about the Promised Child, eh?" She clapped Orihime on the back, then turned to the others. "I'm sure you all know the drill. The Espada, former and current, must forfeit their weapons now that they're in our territory." Waving her men forward, the soldiers ventured out cautiously to meet Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. The latter said nothing as he handed over his sword, while Grimmjow grumbled at them to handle it with care.

Nel tugged on Orihime's shirt and gave her back the iPod. "Are we here already?"

"We are," she answered, patting her on the head. Once the swords had been secured, Rangiku cheerfully motioned for everyone to follow her, then pranced down the Yellow Brick Road, seeming to forget that she was supposed to be acting like a proper soldier. Yoruichi reassured Orihime that this was normal for Rangiku, who had gone from social drinking to alcoholism after a friend of hers had died in the war.

As Orihime began spacing out again, she suddenly found herself walking side by side with Ulquiorra. Hands in his pockets, he stared casually ahead as he said under his breath, "Do not forget our agreement."

Right. She'd promised that she would stay with him if they went through Overton, isolated from the others. Her stomach flipped with a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Maybe now she'd be able to get him talking to her again. But what would he have to say? What would _she _have to say? "I won't," she whispered quietly.

"It shouldn't be much longer!" Rangiku called out.

Nel had climbed up onto Grimmjow's shoulders, her small arms wrapped around his neck. "I like her. She's fun!" she declared, to which Grimmjow nodded his affirmation.

Less than ten minutes later, they came upon a ridge that looked down into a valley full of green and orange. They were the tents of the Oz soldiers – hundreds of thousands of them, all camped at the foot of the mountains. The actual town of Overton was lost somewhere in the sea of color, wooden buildings sprouting up every few yards. "Whoa," Orihime breathed, taking in the sight. She'd witnessed scenes like this in movies before, but it was all the more impressive in real life, and she had to admit that if this turned out to be a dream she would be sorely disappointed.

"This must be the first half of the attack squadron, then," Yoruichi noted, her military training coming back into effect. "I heard that there were two camps on either side of the mountain range, both ready to launch an attack on the Warlock Aizen's fortress. But with Rangiku among them, I must say that I'm a little concerned."

"Shihoin, you'd better not be saying bad things about me back there! Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're the Great Wizard's right hand lady!" Rangiku yelled.

Yoruichi laughed out loud. "She's certainly energetic today." She leaned down to touch her toes and stretch her muscles; a pose that reminded Orihime of a cat about to spring on an unsuspecting bird. "At least General Hitsugaya is more than capable of leading an assault. Say, Matsumoto, who else is down there?" she called out to the unbalanced lieutenant. "That's way too many people for just the Tenth Division."

"Oh, we've got Eleventh down there too," Rangiku said with a frown. "The Munchkin King has been keeping things lively."

"Munchkin King?" Orihime asked.

"Zaraki Kenpachi. He's the head of the Eleventh Division, a real violent and scary individual. But he's also the leader of the munchkin village we started out in," Yoruichi explained as they began to descend the ridge. Orihime nodded, remembering the giant's house among miniature gingerbread residences. As they walked, a messenger ran ahead to inform the others that they had arrived. Soldiers and townspeople alike poked their heads out of tents and wooden structures to stare at the odd assortment of travelers. Some of them greeted Yoruichi, asking her how the Wizard was doing. Others gazed upon Orihime with faint glimmers of hope lightening their war-hardened features. She felt her cheeks heating up and tried to stay focused on what was ahead.

Navigating the network of tents, they soon came to the center of the valley, where Rangiku ignored the men dutifully saluting her as she stumbled into a large tent. Within seconds, a voice from inside was yelling at her, the tone harsh and threatening violence. Then the tent's opening parted and a huge man with a scarred body, spiky hair laced with cheerfully jingling bells, and an eye-patch emerged, grimacing. "Geez, for a pipsqueak he sure is loud."

Orihime's mouth fell open. _This _was Kenpachi? As in, Yachiru's _Ken-chan_? Even shecould ride on the man's back if she wanted to, with plenty of room to spare for more passengers! He gazed down at her, and immediately a huge – and menacing – grin spread across his face. "You must be the Promised Child," he said, leaning forward to examine her before extending a massive hand in greeting. "Allow me to offer my sincerest gratitude. You rid the munchkin village of that Espada pest."

"You're welcome?" Orihime squeaked, shaking his hand before pointing towards the tent. "Is Lieutenant Matsumoto going to be alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. She's just getting chewed out by the acting General for being drunk on the job. Happens every day, so I don't see why he expected anything different from – "

Rangiku emerged from the tent, her fingers clenched around a new bottle, stomping past them with a sour expression. Right on her heels was a silver-haired boy who couldn't have been more than fourteen years old, looking twice as annoyed as she did. "Matsumoto, get back here this instant! There's a ton of paperwork sitting on my desk with your name written all over it! Letters to be sent to the Emerald City, supplies to be signed off on! We need to get this intelligence over the mountain _now_!" He stopped walking, though Rangiku trudged along without slowing down. "Damn it, Matsumoto!" he cried, then heaved a sigh and turned around, rubbing his temples. "That woman will be the death of… oh." Now aware of his audience, he became even more annoyed. "As you were!"

A dozen soldiers scattered back to their posts, doing their best not to snicker in a way that was too noticeable. Yoruichi came forward and offered the boy a salute. "General Hitsugaya, I understand that you're overseeing the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions."

"Indeed," he returned her salute with one of his own. "Good to see you, General Shihoin. You were gone for so long that some of us were really beginning to worry. Is your friend okay?" He looked at Orihime, who was gawking at him rather rudely.

"_That's _General Hitsugaya?" she hissed loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes, he is," Yoruichi supplied.

"But he's so small… and cute!"

The short general sighed. "The Promised Child, I presume?" He gave the rest of their party a quick once-over. "Even dressed in Oz garb, she manages to stick out like a sore thumb. It's an honor to meet you," he said to Orihime, then addressed Yoruichi again. "Now look, I'm not sure how you've been handling your Espada captives…"

"Who is a captive?" Ulquiorra's cold voice silenced him. "I am the escort of the Promise Child, appointed by Lord Aizen to bring her to the Emerald City so that she may return to her own world. Do not mistake me for _his _kind." His gaze cut to Grimmjow, who growled at him in response.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly recovered. "Regardless," he began again, "we cannot have them wandering around unsupervised, considering our proximity to the Warlock's own forces. If they are to escape and find refuge among their own, we cannot go in to retrieve them."

Grimmjow snorted. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, kid. I have no intention of going back to that bastard."

"It's true," Nel said, "he's harmless."

"Oh, I wouldn't say _that_." Grimmjow glared down at her.

"I'd like to believe you, but rules are rules," Hitsugaya said, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. "Though I suppose it's alright if the munchkin keeps an eye on him."

"Damn it," the ex-Espada muttered.

"Excellent!" Nel cheered, then began pushing him off towards the town. "Come along, my precious pet! Let's buy you a collar!"

As soon as they were out of sight, Hitsugaya motioned for a nearby soldier to tail them. "Just a precaution," he said to the remaining three. "Ms. Shihoin, should you care to join us, we are having a strategy meeting later on. It would be an ideal way for you to catch up on the happenings in Oz."

"Sounds good! I'll finally be able to make myself useful to the Great Dunderhead."

The boy nodded. "And as for you, Miss…"

"Orihime Inoue," she answered, trying not to smile too eagerly. Hard to believe that a _kid _was giving orders in life or death situations.

"The Promised Child and I have agreed on another arrangement prior to our coming here," Ulquiorra said before Hitsugaya could start making plans for them. The boy, however, countered without skipping a beat.

"On neutral ground, perhaps, but as long as you remain in Overton you are under my jurisdiction. You have no say in Oz territory."

Yoruichi allowed herself a smug smile, but it faded the moment Orihime stepped into the conflict. "Wait a minute! It's alright, General Hitsugaya. I agreed to it," she said.

"You don't have to if you don't want to!" Yoruichi exclaimed.

"But I do!" Orihime froze, blushed, and quickly amended her declaration. "I mean, I don't mind. Really. It wouldn't be fair to Ulquiorra-san if I went back on my word. And besides, he may work for the other side, and he's a little difficult to understand at times, but he's not a bad person." She closed her eyes, hoping that saying it aloud would be enough to convince herself of its truth. "He's not." She could feel Ulquiorra's gaze on her, heavier than the rest, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. What was he thinking, she wondered? Probably something along the lines of, _Foolish woman, you continue to delude yourself about me_.

Hitsugaya scratched his head. "If that's what you've got your heart set on. What's the arrangement, then?"

"The Promised Child is to be isolated from the others whenever she cannot be supervised by me." Ulquiorra continued, his voice unfortunately not betraying what he might be thinking. "This is to ensure that she does not catch word of any war strategies."

"Alright, anything else?"

"I still don't agree with this," Yoruichi grumbled.

"That is all," Ulquiorra said with enough finality to end the conversation. Luckily, a group of messengers arrived from the other camp, thus occupying General Hitsugaya's attention. But before turning away to address them, he looked at Orihime and Yoruichi a bit sheepishly.

"Hey, if you see Matsumoto, could you tell her I'm sorry? Not about reprimanding her; she really ought to have been doing her paperwork, and not drinking. I've just been more than a little stressed lately and let my anger get the best of me. I could have been more patient with her." He beckoned Yoruichi towards the tent and she joined him and the messengers reluctantly, leaving Ulquiorra and Orihime standing in the midst of a bustling war camp.

One awkward silence later, Orihime cleared her throat. "I'm going to look for Lieutenant Matsumoto." Her hands fluttered in the air uselessly. "He sounded pretty sincere, and, err… yeah." She turned around, stopped, then peered back at Ulquiorra. "Do you remember which way she went?"

"Southwest."

"Right," she turned again, stopped, and looked to Ulquiorra helplessly. "Which way is southwest?"

"Directly in front of you."

"Of course! I was, uh, testing you!" Orihime laughed weakly and ducked her head in an effort to hide her mortification. Way to make an impression on a guy. She sensed that he was still following her as she ventured towards the woods at the edge of the camp, keeping an eye out for the intoxicated lieutenant. Where could Rangiku have gone? It was a big settlement after all; maybe she was visiting a fellow soldier, or in the town sitting in some café, drinking her misery into submission. She paused, and Ulquiorra stopped as well, seemingly determined to keep a few feet away from her at all times. "Wait, I think I see her!"

Sure enough, Lieutenant Matsumoto was several yards ahead, walking right into the forest with beer bottle in hand. Orihime thought it strange that she was still so close to the camp when she'd peeled out of the tent so quickly. Rangiku cast a look over her shoulder, then disappeared into the tangled woods. Orihime followed, making no effort to disguise her footfalls.

Behind her, Ulquiorra blinked slowly. This was no way to tail anyone without getting caught. The woman was making far too much noise, every step like a struck gong announcing her presence to both the lieutenant and whatever predators might be lurking amidst the trees. Had this been an actual mission, in which enemies waited to ambush her unsuspecting self, she would have failed from the get-go, and he would have had to step in and… step in and…

What, save her? That was none of his business. Never mind the fact that she had defended a 'him' that didn't exist a moment ago; she was still just another piece of human trash. Had they met under different circumstances, he would have killed her without a second thought, and now he was considering _protecting _her? Like that incident with the so-called masked man earlier?

It was a good thing this job would be over soon. He wasn't sure how much more of this woman he could take.

…

At the top of Mount Oz, Aizen smirked to himself as Momo served him wine, her hands pale and trembling from the room's freezing temperatures. Lifting his own hand, he placed it over hers in a gesture that was probably meant to be soothing, but caused her small frame to jolt in terror. "Cold?" he asked, his smile widening when she said nothing and looked away. "Come now, my dear, don't be so cross." Motioning with his finger, a series of magical flames appeared, casting the room in a warm glow.

"T-Thank you, my lord," Momo whispered, wishing he would spare her some kindness and remove the chains around her ankles.

"It's no trouble at all," Aizen stood from his throne-like chair and the crystal ball that he had been watching clouded over. He towered over the small girl, staring down at the top of her head as she waited for him to speak. Again, she flinched in surprise when he reached out and touched her cheek tenderly, lifting her chin so that he could gaze into her eyes. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he asked, caressing her light skin.

Momo's bottom lip trembled. And to think that once upon a time she had found his ministrations endearing. "Yes, my lord."

"Then I will say it once more, twice more, as often as you would care to hear it. You're beautiful, my dearest Momo." His expression softened, but his eyes remained as hard and empty as always. "I honestly can't stand the thought of losing you to someone else."

"My lord should not worry. I am completely devoted to you."

"Really?" Aizen took hold of her wrist and led her slowly over to the crystal ball, mindful of the chains around her ankles. "That's comforting to know. You see, I had been getting awfully paranoid, because there seems to be someone else in this world that cherishes you as much as I do… or, at least thinks that he does." Extending his hand towards the viewing glass, the fog cleared, revealing a picture of General Hitsugaya pointing to a map of the mountain range.

Momo's face drained of color. "Shiro-chan," she squeaked.

Aizen chuckled. "That's right, your childhood friend; Toshiro Hitsugaya, correct?" He watched Momo as she stared at the crystal ball, tears filling her eyes. "He seems rather desperate to get you back, my dear. Unfortunately for him, I have no intention of letting you go." The ball misted over again as Aizen turned to her, placing a hand on her back and pulling her into a shallow embrace. "There is no need to cry. He's your friend, after all. I'll do him a favor and make his death quick and painless. He won't even see it coming."

Momo felt even colder than before, despite the warmth of the nearby flames. Her whole body shook with barely suppressed rage. What could she do to stop Aizen? She had no magical ability, she barely had any physical strength, and no one in this entire fortress was on her side. But Hitsugaya… "Now then, if you'll excuse me," Aizen extracted himself from her and gave her what was probably supposed to be a reassuring pat on the head, "I have an army to put together."

"A-An army, my lord?" Momo questioned miserably.

"Certainly," Aizen held out his arm and the clouds surrounding the stronghold parted, allowing him a view of the world below. Lying to the east were glittering green spires, surrounded by a field of flowers. "Don't you think it's about time we captured the Emerald City?"

…

Orihime was lost.

She had let Rangiku out of her sight for exactly one second, and the lieutenant had dropped off the face of the earth. Sure, she could always get Ulquiorra to lead her back to the camp, but she was ashamed to admit that she was still worried that he would march her off to Aizen's fortress instead. So she went on as if she knew where she was going, though she was sure that she wasn't fooling Ulquiorra one bit.

Then, after a minute or two of aimless wandering, she heard voices. She stopped, gesturing behind her for Ulquiorra to do the same, though he already had. Inching closer to the murmuring, she ducked down next to a bush and peered through the leaves.

Her hand clapped over her mouth. There was Rangiku… with the masked ghost of the forest? What was going on?

"Didn't think you were comin'," the ghost said, "seein' as ya stood me up the last two times."

Rangiku rubbed her arm with her free hand, her gaze averted. "I didn't stand you up. You can't stand someone up if you don't have a date scheduled."

The silver-haired ghost reached up and removed the mask, revealing a smiling face almost identical to that of the fox. "Now yer just lyin' to me, Ran." He allowed himself a wounded expression. "Do ya really not trust me anymore?"

Rangiku sighed. "Can you blame me?" She set the bottle of alcohol down between them. "I know that it's your job and everything, but you play such a convincing role. I don't know what to think sometimes, Gin. Are you working for Aizen or not?"

The silver-haired man looked away from her. Orihime held her breath as a long silence passed between the two, then chanced a glance in Ulquiorra's direction. He didn't seem to be paying attention. "Then why are you here, Ran?" she heard Gin ask, and focused back on the drama playing out in the clearing ahead. Another silence followed, shorter than the last.

Rangiku smiled wryly. "You saw the Promised Child, didn't you?"

"Sure did! Her traveling companion almost killed me."

She laughed. "Well, she said something earlier that really got to me. I'd sort of been hovering at the edge of the crowd and happened to overhear her spouting some lovely words about trusting her Espada friend, even if he worked for the other side, and even if he was hard to understand." Using her sandal-clad foot, she nudged the bottle of alcohol towards him as a peace offering. "And that's coming from two complete strangers."

Gin stepped forward. "You'll give me a chance, eh?"

Rangiku nodded. "We've been friends for so long. I guess I was just scared of what you might have become." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Gin. I'm embarrassed to have doubted you."

"Ah, come off it. I forgive ya," Gin replied as he approached her. With a flick of his wrist, the bottle flew up from the grass and settled into his hand. Orihime's eyes widened – he was a magician too? "What say you and I share this? I've got some information that'll make your shrimp of a boss squirm for sure."

Orihime backed away from the bush slowly, careful not to make a sound. So Rangiku was friends with a double agent! That was interesting news, but undoubtedly private. She managed to get to Ulquiorra without being noticed. "_Let's go_," she mouthed, gesturing in the direction of Overton. As they walked, she noticed that he walked neither behind her nor ahead of her this time, but rather, he fell into step beside her. Had he been listening to the exchange? Did he know who Gin was?

Once again, Orihime's brain produced a ton of unanswered questions that she couldn't gather the courage to ask. But as they walked back to the camp, she decided that if she never managed to speak her thoughts, she would at least take the same step that Rangiku had: She'd trust her companion, even if he continued to give her no reason to. Who knew? Maybe he was hiding from her a number of things that he wasn't allowed to say.

**To Be Continued**


	15. A Mess of Good Intentions

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, The Wizard of Oz, or any other mentioned copyrighted materials.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**A Mess of Good Intentions**

"What if we tried…?"

"We can't. There may be an army there, but we aren't allowed to make any moves until they do."

Yoruichi eyed the map of the mountains, her frustration building. According to General Hitsugaya, the joint army had been camped in Overton for the last two weeks, at a complete standstill. Other divisions were beginning to arrive in Spindle, but the region was so vast that it would take days for them to reach the Emerald City. Those coming in through Seaside had the added problem of trying to cross all of their troops – an impossible feat without the aid of the navy fleet, which was a solid week upstream from them. "So what you're saying," she began again, "is that all we can do is sit around and wait?"

Kenpachi grunted from where he sat on the ground at the edge of the tent. "Unfortunately. You know how the laws go."

"_Ugh_!" Yoruichi groaned and fell back into one of the chairs surrounding the large table on which the map was situated. "See, that's what I liked about Earth. If an army wanted to attack, they did it. None of this taking turns thing, like some boring ass game of chess!"

General Hitsugaya stared at the map, his mind working at a frantic pace. "Suppose we did manage to get to Warlock Aizen," he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "How does one go about defeating such a powerful man? He trained under the Wizard, correct?"

"Correct," Yoruichi grumbled.

"And _you, _General Shihoin, are the closest to the Wizard." His gaze settled on her. "Think you can remember anything that might be of use to us? Did he ever talk about Aizen at all? Mention some sort of magical technique that made the warlock so strong, perhaps?"

Yoruichi curled her toes until the bones popped, then wiggled them to relieve any leftover tension. "If I knew, I would have said so by now. That idiot never told me anything."

Hitsugaya frowned. "Why not?"

"He doesn't trust me." She could still hear his voice from all those nights ago, so calm and deceptively playful. _I expected a human._ "Not one bit."

Kenpachi lifted his head, the bells attached to the ends of his hair jingling noisily. "Question," he crossed his arms, "where does the Promised Child fit into all this? To be honest, when I first heard of the prophecy I was expecting a warrior, not some girl." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "We can't put her on the front lines. One strike will have her head rolling across the grass."

"See, this would be so much easier if we knew Aizen's weak point, but we don't." Hitsugaya jumped down from the chair on which he'd been standing to gaze upon the map and looked between his two fellow generals. "What this means," he said, "is that we have to somehow get a message to Ms. Inoue." His eyes narrowed. "Currently she is being guarded by the fourth in command of the warlock's private army. Who better to get information from?"

Yoruichi placed her chin in her upturned palms. "Why not just ask Grimmjow?"

Hitsugaya smiled wryly. "Think I didn't try that? He said that at his rank, he didn't have the sort of military clearance needed to be privy to Aizen's affairs; that it was reserved for numbers four and higher."

Yoruichi scoffed. There was no way that Ulquiorra of all people would talk. "What are our chances with the three that outrank the fourth?"

"Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerback decimated the Thirteenth Division in the desert before being wiped out by the Eighth. Baraggan Luisenbarn, the old man of the mountains, was destroyed by the Second Division. The Fifth Division's naval fleet was in charge of taking the pirate captain Tia Harribel alive for questioning, but before they could apprehend her, a bolt of lightning struck down the ship on a perfectly clear night," Kenpachi explained.

"It would appear that Warlock Aizen didn't want any of his higher ups to squeal," Hitsugaya added with a frown. "Which leads me to suspect that the only reason he is keeping Ulquiorra alive is so that he can fulfill his current mission. But don't you think it's strange that he's just going to let Ms. Inoue go?"

"He promised to let her leave in peace as long as she didn't threaten his objectives," Yoruichi echoed what Ulquiorra had told them at the very beginning.

"Her very existence is a threat to his objectives," Hitsugaya reminded her. "Warlock Aizen feared the prophecy enough to destroy every Six-Petal Flower in Oz, the very same prophecy that predicted his loss in this war. So why wouldn't he be trying to remove Ms. Inoue from existence every time the opportunity presents itself?"

The three generals fell silent, letting their imaginations run wild with the possibilities. Outside, soldiers of the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions went through their final drills of the afternoon, filling the air with shouts and clanging. Dinner was being prepared by volunteers from Overton and members of the Fourth Division, who were divided and sent along with the others to provide healing during and between battles. Soon Yoruichi became distracted by the scent of food and her own growling stomach, her focus snapping like a twig. "Alright," she stood from her chair, "what do you want me to tell Orihime?"

"If you can get her alone for even two seconds, inform her that we need her to interrogate her escort on Aizen's weaknesses." Hitsugaya slid the paperweights keeping the map down away and rolled it up again. "After all, if there's anyone among us who can get him to speak, it's probably her."

"What makes you say that?" Yoruichi asked, and the shorter general smirked.

"With orders like those, he's as much her prisoner as she is his."

…

Orihime had been worried that food from a war camp wouldn't be the most appetizing thing in the world, but she was pleasantly surprised to discover that the beef stew served for dinner that night was delicious… and not magically enhanced! She ate so much that she thought her stomach would explode if she took another bite, but then Rangiku showed up and kept her talking, and before she knew it she had devoured another bowl. Luckily, the older woman hadn't caught her eavesdropping on her conversation with the masked man in the woods – or if she had, she chose not to bring it up throughout the meal.

After dinner, she was led to her private sleeping quarters by two of Kenpachi's soldiers, a bald man and another with a questionable gender who bickered the entire way. When they reached the building, they smiled back at her pleasantly and wished her a good night before continuing their argument as they walked off. "What a pair of nice guys," she said to herself with a smile.

The wooden structure, Orihime guessed, was one of the smaller homes in Overton. She allowed herself to be amazed by the fact that they had given her – and Ulquiorra – an entire house with a kitchen, a living room and everything. All that was missing was a television to watch the news or some game shows on. But even if she did have that, she was sure that her silent captor was expecting her to follow their usual routine: go straight to sleep. She looked back at him and found him staring at her, apparently not as impressed as she was by all the space. "I suppose I should go to bed, huh?"

"The sooner you do so, the sooner we can leave," Ulquiorra stated icily. He was puzzled by her faltering smile. Did she not want to sleep? What did she intend to do, then? Talk all night?

Orihime sighed and left the living room alone, wandering down the short hallway that led to the house's only bedroom. There she found a bed larger than any of the ones she had slept in so far, sparse furnishings, and a window from which she could see a few campfires around which Oz soldiers were gathered. She felt a little guilty, then; here she was, being pampered because she was the Promised Child while they slept in tents, on stiff and uncomfortable cots.

Ulquiorra, who had taken up his usual place at a chair in the corner of the room, watched her as she began to strip the bed of its sheets and pile them on the ground. Surely this wasn't some strange human ritual, as he hadn't seen her do it before. She didn't seem to pay him any mind as she arranged the blankets on the floor next to the bed, then grabbed the pillow and placed it down there as well. What was she doing?

Orihime looked up at him, and he realized then that he had voiced his question aloud. "I don't think it's very fair of me to get this nice bed when the soldiers are sleeping on the ground," she said, "so I'm going to join them."

"I do not understand," Ulquiorra replied.

Orihime lined her pillow up with the blankets and clapped her hands together in satisfaction. "You could call it a fault of my heart." She turned back to him. "But you know, if they had chosen to lock you up in a cell for the night, I would have insisted that they lock me up as well."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened slightly as she opened her backpack and gathered her shower things, skipping off with the promise that she wouldn't stay long. Didn't she know that the others wouldn't allow her to spend a night in a cell? Would she keep insisting anyway? Once again, that girl and her strange actions caused his mind to produce a thousand and one questions that he would never jeopardize his mission to ask. But more than the questions, she also caused him to feel a foreign pressure within his empty chest. It wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't normal either. He'd never experienced it before.

He'd have to ask Lord Aizen to fix whatever it was later.

…

Yoruichi reclined on her cot, one leg crossed over the other and swinging listlessly, unable to sleep. They were heading out again the next morning for Permafrost, a small town that got about two weeks of snow-free days a year. She knew that another Division had been stationed there – it was on the other side of the mountains, and was about three days away from the Emerald City.

Technically, going that route meant that they would have to veer off of the yellow brick road, but General Hitsugaya had wanted to send a message to the other army, which just so happened to be the Sixth Division. Yoruichi closed her eyes, her heart racing at the thought of seeing Byakuya again. After her moonlit encounter with the Wizard, she had sort of been hoping to avoid either of them for a while. Fate wasn't in the mood to be nice to her, she supposed.

"And I'm saying that you couldn't _possibly _have done all that!" Nel cried, drawing her attention to the loud pair across the tent. "Pets can't be more amazing than their masters!"

"Oh yeah? Then what have _you _contributed to the war effort, huh?" Grimmjow sneered, looking anything but threatening with the makeshift collar – comprised of red yarn and a steel nut found lying around the camp – around his neck.

Nel stuck out her bottom lip in a frustrated pout. "I stopped you from killing Orihime."

"You didn't stop me from doing anything. I chose to let her go."

"Like hell you did! You would have gone right on attacking had I not countered your cero."

Yoruichi interrupted their argument. "By the way, Nel, how _did _you counter Grimmjow's cero?"

The munchkin opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her brow furrowed in concentration, and for a long while she sat perfectly still, save for the occasional blink. Finally, she shrugged. "I guess I just willed it to happen."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at her. "If I could will things to happen, you'd be dead, kid."

"Don't you dare make threats against your master!" Nel attempted to kick him but he grabbed her ankle and held her upside-down, her limbs flailing. "Hey!"

"Go to sleep. You're keeping the cat awake with your loud-ass mouth." He set her onto her own cot and turned his back on the two, glaring sourly at the side of the tent. There was an uneasy feeling crawling up his spine, a sort of nervous excitement that made him want to get up and run laps around the camp. He knew what it was: Aizen's soldiers were nearby, and a battle was brewing in the air. It would be his first major brawl since one that had occurred a few months ago, in which he had been wounded to near death, the only reason for his survival being that one of his superiors had spared him some kindness and treated his injuries. By the time he had fully recovered, Aizen was ordering him to go after the Promised Child.

Now he would be fighting alongside the people that he had once set out to kill. Lucky for him, there was no one on Aizen's side that he particularly liked. He turned over restlessly and was surprised to find Nel looking at him, her wide green eyes visible in the darkness. He understood immediately: she could sense the other army, too. "Sleep," he grumbled, "everything's going to be alright."

…

"Woman?" Ulquiorra stared at the dark lump on the floor, which he could have sworn he had just heard make a sound. The night had been uneventful so far; he could sense Aizen's army on the move under the cover of shadow, but they were headed for neither Overton nor Permafrost, so there was no immediate cause for alarm. The Promised Child had gone to sleep three hours prior, cycling in and out of her REM stage regularly. When seconds of silence passed after he had addressed her, he stood up from his chair and strode over to where she lay, keeping his distance, leaning over to try and get a good look at her.

She was breathing deeply, but somewhat unevenly. Was she awake or not? Ulquiorra opened his mouth to call her again, but hesitated when she suddenly turned over fitfully. His sharp green eyes caught a brief flicker of reflected light and sought out the source:

Tears. The woman was crying in her sleep. Why? He remained perfectly still, waiting to see what she would do next. Her lips were moving, uttering a sequence of syllables that he didn't quite understand. Ku-ro-sa-ki-kun? He recognized the polite suffix, so everything else must have been part of a name. His brain quickly retrieved an informative memory for him.

"…_and there are days when you wish that you hadn't had your feelings hurt, or felt jealous seeing your best friend with the person you love, or you even wish that you'd never fallen in love with that person to begin with…"_

Ulquiorra's fingers curled. The woman had been in love with someone, and that someone had hurt her. She had gone on to claim that she would rather have that pain than nothing at all, but here she was, crying in her sleep, undoubtedly dreaming of that person who had broken her heart. He wasn't sure why, but it brought that pressure back to his chest, the sick feeling in his gut. Why dream about someone who had hurt her? If she was crying, then she certainly didn't enjoy the pain, so he couldn't attribute it to masochism.

Whatever the case, it was annoying him. She didn't need to cry over such trivial things. He would have woken her up had she not been expected to travel the next day, as she was the type who walked slower when they were tired. But he couldn't just leave her like that, either. No, he had to do something about those tears.

_Orihime couldn't remember the last time she had dreamt of high school, of standing in the grassy courtyard and seeing Ichigo and Rukia walking home together, closer than they had ever walked before. They didn't hold hands like normal couples; they didn't do many things like normal couples, things that she would have loved to do. It was then that she'd realized how naïve she had been, how completely wrong for him she was. She'd been so blinded by her childish love for him that she hadn't been able to see the real him, something that someone like Rukia could pick up on immediately._

_Sure, she was heartbroken and disappointed, but Orihime figured that the reason she had cried so much in the end was that she was ashamed of herself. She had foolishly claimed to be in love with someone that she didn't even know, had refused to let go of her image of Kurosaki-kun as a knight in shining armor. She deserved to lose him._

_Unfortunately, her acknowledgement of all these facts had done nothing to lessen her pain. She'd had days where she had honestly worried Sora, claiming that she was sick in order to stay home and drown her sorrows in ice cream. There were times when she'd even wished that she had no heart at all…_

"_That can be arranged."_

_Orihime gasped as the courtyard scene faded away, replaced by a churning darkness in which all she could see was Warlock Aizen, his hand stretching out to grab her, his dead eyes narrowing as he smirked triumphantly…_

Her eyes snapped open, but the menacing hand remained. "No!" she screamed, letting loose her own and slapping her assailant across the face with all the force her half-asleep self could muster. The sound of the blow snapped through the room like a clap of thunder, her palm and fingers stinging in complaint. Orihime took a moment to orient herself – she was at the camp in Overton, Aizen nowhere to be found – and allow her heart to stop trying to burst out of her skin, becoming aware of the tears that wet her cheeks. But what about that hand…?

Oh no.

Orihime's gaze finally focused enough for her to see who it was that she had slapped. With his arm still rigid between them, Ulquiorra stood frozen, his head turning so that his piercing green eyes could settle on her. _Oh my God_… Orihime's mouth fell open in horror. She'd hit him. _She'd hit him_!

Neither of them moved, as if under some nightmarish spell, both trying to understand the other's motives. What _had _he been doing at her makeshift bedside, reaching out for her like that? She would have asked had she not seen something strange, something different in the way he looked at her. Her vocal chords untangled themselves, her mouth remembering how to work. "Ulquiorra-san…"

His arm dropped back to his side. Without a single word, he stood to his full height, slipped his hands into his pockets, and walked out of the room.

Orihime kicked the sheets off of her legs, scrambling to get up and follow him, but then she stopped herself. What in the world would she say? _Sorry for hitting you! I thought you were Aizen! _Yeah, that would go over well. _Wait, what are you getting upset at me for? You were the one lurking around at night like some sort of pervert! _She buried her face in her hands, feeling a fresh wave of tears coming on.

Would he take the strike against him as an act of war? Technically he was part of Aizen's army, and hitting him could be interpreted as her going back on her word. Was he off to gather reinforcements so that they could attack the camp, then? Should she alert the others?

Letting the panic chase away the remnants of her troubled sleep, she stood up and ran out of the bedroom. Halfway down the hall, however, she collided with someone. Oh no! Had Ulquiorra been there the entire time? "Orihime!" Yoruichi's gold eyes blinked at her in the darkness of the passage. "What's going on? One of the soldiers on guard duty came and told me that Ulquiorra had left the… are you crying? Did he do something to you?"

"No," Orihime reached up to wipe her cheeks, "no, he didn't do anything to me, b-but I slapped him and he got really quiet and then he…"

"Calm down, Orihime. The guards have a close eye on him. He hasn't left the camp." Yoruichi hugged the girl, wondering what had transpired between her best friend and the Espada. "Look, I suppose this is bad timing and everything, but I had to pass on the message. General Hitsugaya thinks that you can get some information about Aizen from Ulquiorra."

Orihime sniffled. "What? What kind of information? I can't…"

"A weak spot! A way to get into his fortress, the secret to his power. That sort of thing!"

Immediately, she remembered the glowing jewel with the complicated name that Aizen had showed her the other night in the woods. But she stopped herself before she could let anything slip. If she told Yoruichi about the jewel, then she would have to explain how she had come into the warlock's presence in the first place, and that would certainly hurt the cat-turned-general's feelings. She had technically betrayed their trust and made some shady deal with Aizen, after all.

More than that, though, the information would probably also have Yoruichi ordering the soldiers to capture Ulquiorra and bring him into Oz's custody.

"I can try," Orihime said quietly, not wanting to make any promises. If she was lucky, this whole thing would blow over on its own. Her biggest worry right now was finding Ulquiorra and apologizing, but perhaps she should give him time to cool off first? He was being watched, so she didn't have to worry too much about him communicating with Aizen, unless they had some sort of weird telepathy set up between them.

Yoruichi began leading her back to the bedroom. "Thanks Orihime, it means a lot to us." She smiled at the distraught girl, hoping to calm her down somewhat. "I don't know what happened with Ulquiorra, but don't worry about it, okay? Get some sleep and work it out in the morning. You probably aren't thinking clearly right now anyway."

No, she wasn't. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess and she felt like indulging in a good cry. First a dream of the painful past, and now she was facing an uncertain present. She really hadn't meant to hit Ulquiorra, but how willing would he be to hear her out? She'd given him quite a wallop – not that it should have hurt him much, considering who he was, but it was the principle of the matter! An apology was still in order, even if he felt her hand like a pinprick on his skin.

…

Ulquiorra's mind set to work at a breakneck pace the moment he left the woman behind. She had struck him. He could still feel the ghost of her fingers across his cheek, attempting to bring harm to someone far more superior in strength than her. With her feeble human hand, she had tried to hurt him. Why?

Well, there were several possible answers that he could rationally produce, considering her personality. One: She had been in the midst of a nightmare about a man who had scorned her, and had thus transferred her aggression to the first thing she had seen upon waking. She probably would have done the same thing to an unfortunate pillow had he not been nearby. Two: Seeing him so close while she was half asleep had startled her, and, coupled with the fact that he was male, she reacted in a normal female manner. Three: She was under the impression that he had been trying to make a move on her in her sleep, in which case she was not only sadly mistaken, but in need of a doctor to examine her brain.

Ulquiorra didn't get far in his wanderings – he noticed that the Oz guards were keeping a closer eye on him now that he was unattended – before he happened upon Grimmjow, who was sitting outside of the tent that he had been sharing with Yoruichi and Nel. The blue-haired man looked up at him in surprise, then noticed the fact that he was flying solo and his expression hardened. "Where's Orihime?" he asked, standing from the ground. "Is she alright? Did something happen?"

"The woman is fine," Ulquiorra replied flatly. "She is asleep in her quarters."

Grimmjow didn't relax. "Then why aren't you with her?"

Ulquiorra ignored the question, considering the inferior soldier standing before him. This man could not defeat him in battle, despite their differences in height, and could be easily outwitted, but there was something that he knew better than Ulquiorra did. "How would you feel," he ventured slowly, "if the munchkin child said that she hated you?"

The tension in Grimmjow's muscles eased, but he still approached his response with caution. "I wouldn't feel much of anything because I know that she doesn't mean it."

Ulquiorra considered this. Yes, it made perfect sense. Judging by the stricken look on the woman's face before he had left the room, she must have been regretting her actions. She hadn't _meant _to hit him; she just _had_.

"Why do you ask… yeah, okay, just walk off without saying anything. Bastard," Grimmjow grunted as he sat back down on the ground. What in the world had that been about? He kept an eye on Ulquiorra as the white-clad Espada headed deeper into the camp, making the night watch nervous. It was a good thing that he had gone off in the direction opposite of Orihime's resting place. Yoruichi would have all the time in the world to relay intelligence to the Promised Child.

Whatever had happened, Ulquiorra must have been pretty bothered to have let his guard slip so dramatically.

**To Be Continued**


	16. Where Loyalties Lie

**Disclaimer: **No Bleach, no Wizard of Oz, no nothing.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Where Loyalties Lie**

Generals Hitsugaya and Kenpachi treated the departing group to an unnecessarily grand farewell, complete with a line of soldiers standing at attention that stretched to the end of the camp. Lieutenant Matsumoto was the only person not present, which made Orihime a little sad, but the white-haired military leader had told her that nothing could get the blond woman out of bed when she was hung-over. Luckily they were running out of alcohol rations and wouldn't be going into the city for more anytime soon.

At the end of the procession, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow were allowed their swords, which the former accepted wordless and the latter graciously. He was even able to jokingly put one of the soldiers in a headlock without having every weapon in the vicinity pointed at him – the benefits of drinking with the guys, he supposed. After his encounter with Ulquiorra, he'd wandered around the camp and gotten delightfully tipsy, boasting about all the women he'd slept with while still human – at least, he was pretty sure he'd had plenty of conquests. They didn't need to know that he couldn't remember. The soldiers were drunkenly amazed that he'd even _been _human at some point.

"Man," Yoruichi said a while after they had walked a considerable distance from the camp, "you know what completely slipped my mind?" She turned to Orihime, who had been picking at a thread on her shirt for the last twenty minutes in an effort to keep from staring holes into the back of Ulquiorra's head. "Coats."

"Coats?"

"Oh yeah, you people are affected by the weather, huh?" Grimmjow muttered as he and Nel – who was perched on his shoulders again – inspected the sheath of his blade for any scratches.

Orihime flinched as a cold breeze came down from the mountains around them. Yoruichi was right. The temperature had been steadily dropping the further they climbed, and all that she had in her backpack were summer clothes. With a name like Permafrost, she was guessing that their next destination wasn't the warmest place in Oz. "We've already walked this far," she looked ahead of her at the Espada whose back was turned to the group, "and I don't think Ulquiorra-san would want to turn around."

He hadn't returned to the cabin the night before, but when she had stepped out that morning, he'd been waiting for her by the door. No words were exchanged, her apology building and dying on her tongue several times before she'd realized that they had rejoined the group.

Ulquiorra didn't even seem particularly angry, though it was hard enough to set his moods apart from each other.

Orihime sighed, about to tell the frowning Yoruichi that she would gladly endure whatever cold was coming their way when she noticed something in the woods. "Hey, what's that?" She took a few steps off of the path, squinting between the trees. Two long white objects hung from a low branch nearby. Reaching out to touch them, she didn't even notice that Yoruichi had followed her until a darker-skinned hand joined hers on the soft material.

"They're coats," Yoruichi murmured, taking one down and slipping it on over her shoulders. It was a little large, but exquisitely warm. She stared at the tree in amazement as Orihime retrieved the other and buried her nose into the fur. "Expensive ones, too. How did they get out here?"

Orihime lifted her head, then, her eyes trained on a deeper section of the woods where a familiar figure stood staring back at her, its face imperceptible past the fox mask hanging in front of it. Then one pale hand reached up, removing the mask, and the silver-haired Gin grinned at her before bending at the waist in a polite bow. Standing a short distance behind him was Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, looking content, grateful, and a hundred percent sober. Orihime smiled. "Maybe the phantom of the forest heard us," she said as he flicked his wrist – there she caught the tip of the wand hiding in his long sleeves – and, together with Rangiku, vanished into thin air.

…

To say that it was a bad situation would have been an understatement.

Kisuke Urahara had one eye on the scenery outside of his window and the other on the tip of the sword that grazed his nose every time he inhaled. Even from the height of the Emerald Castle's viewing chamber, he could hear the explosions, the screams of the people down below as the city was overrun by Aizen's army. Normally he would have done something about this – he was the Great Wizard, after all; they were kind of expecting him to save them.

Unfortunately, his wand was currently in the free hand of General Luppi Antenor, who had one foot on each arm rest of the wizard's chair and a blade hanging perilously close to his face.

The wizard would have claimed carelessness, but he was pretty sure that the soldiers below were getting the surprises of their life as victim after victim turned into piles of twigs and leaves. He allowed himself a small smile, relieved that he had ordered the city to be evacuated, its citizens cloaked by magic to appear as part of the Second Division, which had moved out to take care of an issue in the south two days before.

Luppi scowled, his young face twisting into a look of contempt as one the many white tentacles coming out of his back wrapped around Kisuke's neck. "What the hell are you smiling about?"

"Oh, nothing," said the wizard with a bit of a wheeze. "I'm just amazed by Warlock Aizen's attention to detail. I never would have thought to give you tentacles! Really, you've come a long way from the original."

Luppi snorted. "I'm far better than the original." He turned back to his accompanying soldiers, who had been setting up a large viewing screen on the adjacent wall. They scattered the moment the short Espada's extra limbs flew towards it, drawing a magical symbol on the black surface that began to glow an angry red. Seconds later, it came to life.

The screen revealed Warlock Aizen, standing in his own viewing chambers, hands buried within the folds of his long sleeves. "Oh my," he said, his voice as clear as if he were in the room with them. "It would appear that the Great Wizard has been captured. Honestly, if I knew it was going to be that easy, I wouldn't have bothered to send such a large army."

Kisuke shrugged helplessly. "You got me!" He put his hand on Luppi's blade to lower it away from his face. "And you know, I'm a little put out with you, Sousuke. You had the hougyoku; what did you need my clone blueprints for? I was rather fond of them." He then had the gall to pat Luppi on the head. "This one, especially."

"Don't touch me, you hack!" Luppi cried, dealing the wizard a savage blow to the face that knocked the chair back. He landed gracefully on his feet while Kisuke went sprawling onto the floor. "What shall I do with him, my lord?"

Aizen watched Kisuke slowly pick himself up with a wary eye. "We'll keep him under observation for now." His soulless gaze narrowed on his former teacher as a cruel smile worked its way up to his face. "After all, I would love for him to witness the establishment of my new kingdom."

Kisuke wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with a frown. Well, the next few days would certainly be inconvenient for him. But with the Promised Child just a short journey from the Emerald City, he knew that he could put whatever fears he had to bed. The prophecy would definitely be fulfilled…

…unless, of course, she was still entertaining notions of asking him to send her home.

…

It was two more silent days of travel, and one uncomfortable night hiding from the elements in a cave that Grimmjow had found, before Orihime's group reached Permafrost. The town was located next to an enormous frozen lake upon which several soldiers were training, hoping to master movement on ice in the event that their battles would take place in such settings. Orihime burrowed further into her fur coat, her breath clouding as Yoruichi let out a relieved sigh. "We're here."

The whole of the surrounding valley – mountains, pine trees, and every slope in between – was covered in hard-packed snow, leaving Orihime to guess that the last time this place had thawed had been long months ago. Citizens of the town moved about easily, hardly bothered by that which had become such a large part of their lives. She wondered how little the temperature would have to rise for them to complain about being hot.

"Orihime!"

The girl's silver eyes searched the landscape briefly before landing on the Good Witch Rukia Kuchiki, who was running uphill towards them with a broad smile on her face. Trailing behind her were Lieutenant Renji Abarai and General Byakuya Kuchiki, who was looking much healthier than the first time they had seen him.

Unable to help her excitement, Orihime broke away from the group, carefully descending the snow-covered hill. She was caught off guard when Rukia tackled her, throwing her arms around her neck. "You've made it this way safely! Thank goodness!" She drew back to clasp her hands. "When I heard rumors that you were traveling with two of Aizen's Espada, I was so worried."

"Don't be! Yoruichi-san has been taking very good care of me," Orihime reassured her, motioning for the rest of the group to come closer as she lowered her voice. "Besides, between you and me, Grimmjow isn't that scary."

"I heard that!" Grimmjow barked from a distance and Orihime flinched.

"Right, he's got good ears."

Nel approached first, flinging herself at Rukia happily. "It's the Good Witch of the North!"

"The munchkin's in bright spirits," Renji noted as he came to stand next to Rukia dutifully. Then, remembering that the general was behind him, he snapped to attention. "Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, Renji Abarai!"

Rukia elbowed him in the gut. "Cut that out! They already know who you are."

"Indeed," Byakuya took his place next to her and nodded in Orihime's direction. "Promised Child, it is wonderful to see you in good health," he said in a tone that left her wondering as to whether or not he meant it.

"You too! Err, are your injuries completely healed?"

"They are." Byakuya scrutinized Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, who were already being put through the usual ordeal of being separated from their weapons. "I trust that those two won't be stirring up any trouble in my camp. The soldiers have been tense enough, what with the news we received this morning of the Emerald City's capture."

"_What_?" Yoruichi snapped, her eyes flying wide.

Byakuya turned his gaze on her. "Yes," he went on with the same degree of calm and indifference as before, "your army, the Second Division, evacuated all of the citizens two days before the attack. The wizard, however, stayed behind and offered himself up as a hostage."

"That idiot! What could he possibly be _thinking_?" Yoruichi cried before unceremoniously taking off towards the woods.

Orihime gasped. "Yoruichi-san, where are you going?"

"To the Emerald City! Someone needs to rescue the Great Moron of Oz!" And with that, she disappeared in a flash, the snow-covered trees several feet away whipping backwards in the wind left behind by her departure.

"Wait!" Orihime began running after her, but in the next instant she was blinded by the wave of snow kicked up by Ulquiorra, who now stood in front of her.

"You will remain right where you are, woman."

"B-But!"

"As much as I hate to agree with any of Aizen's soldiers, I'm with him on this one, Orihime," Rukia spoke up quietly. "You'll never be able to catch General Shihoin. The only one capable of running beside her is my brother." She looked up at Byakuya. "You should stop her before she gets herself killed."

"If you are so concerned about General Shihoin's welfare, you can cast a spell to stop her."

"_Byakuya_," she ground out with mild irritation. The two stood glaring at each other while, a few feet away, Orihime and Ulquiorra also had a silent stand-off. Nel ducked behind Grimmjow's leg, hoping to escape the tension between the two pairs. Then finally, Byakuya turned and wordlessly disappeared, the distant trees hardly disturbed by his passing. "Honestly," Rukia grumbled, "Those two should be locked in a room together to work out their differences. Nothing will ever get resolved if they don't sit down and talk to each other like adults, but no! Does anyone ever listen to me?"

"I listen to you," Renji threw in, and she beamed up at him happily. Turning back to what was left of Orihime's group, she cringed when she noticed the Promised Child and her escort staring each other down.

"Uh… shall I show you all where you'll be sleeping?"

Orihime wrung her hands nervously as she somehow managed to hold Ulquiorra's intense gaze. "Why did you stop me?"

"The Wizard is currently being held hostage, and the rules of war dictate that you shall not confer with him until he is set free by his allies."

"We _are _his allies!"

"You and I are not," Ulquiorra responded chillingly, "unless you have decided to take sides in this conflict, in which case you pose a threat to Lord Aizen and must be eliminated." His words sent Rukia, Renji and Grimmjow bristling, ready to step in and defend Orihime should he show signs of attacking. He may not have had his sword, but it would take very little for him to blow her away with a cero. "You gave him your word," he reminded her.

Orihime lowered her head. "I know."

Satisfied by her ensuing silence, Ulquiorra turned in the direction of the woods. "So long as you remember," he said as he began to walk away at a brisk pace.

"W-Wait!" Orihime followed after him, leaving her confused company behind.

Grimmjow snorted and crossed his arms. "Well, this is just perfect." He turned to Rukia. "Hey shrimp, got anything to eat? I'm starving – yikes!" Leaping to the side, he narrowly avoided getting hit by a blast of magical energy, which crackled across the snowy ground like lightning.

Rukia glared at him, her wand pointed in his direction. "You will address me by my proper name."

"Or die!" Nel shouted enthusiastically.

"Why the hell are you siding with her?" Grimmjow snapped at the munchkin, who stuck her tongue out at him from behind the witch's legs. "This is the thanks I get for carrying your fat ass all the way here?"

"I didn't ask you to carry me! And I'm not fat!"

"You gave me one of those looks that suggested I _should _carry you or you'd probably throw a tantrum like the childish little brat you are!" He glared at her, waiting for a smart response, but it never came. Within seconds he noticed Nel's eyes taking on a glassy quality that was shortly followed by the trembling of her bottom lip. An irritating pang of guilt stabbed him in the gut. "Kid, if you start crying…"

"I hate you, Grimmjow! Idiot!" Nel wailed, tearing away from Rukia and Renji at top speed.

"Ah, Nel!" Rukia cried, but the girl had already disappeared into the busy village. Immediately she turned back to Grimmjow, the tip of her wand glowing angrily, a borderline demonic smile creeping up to her face. "_You_…"

Grimmjow looked to Renji for some kind of assistance, but the redhead was examining his knuckles as if he had found the meaning of life between his index and middle fingers. Left with no other choice, the former Espada took off running, dodging flaming heaps of magic all the way into the woods. "Come back here!" Rukia yelled as she pursued him on a conjured thundercloud.

Renji shook his head sadly, strolling leisurely towards the village. "And these are supposed to be the saviors of Oz."

…

Tree branches whipped across Yoruichi's face as she bolted through the woods, her eyes fixed dead ahead. At this rate she would reach the Emerald City in less than a few hours. Her lungs felt as if they would burst from the rapid intake of the freezing air around her, but she had to keep going. Kisuke was, unfortunately, nothing without his wand. If they somehow managed to separate him from it, then killing him would be child's play.

She shuddered at the thought, and forced herself to move faster, certain that she would be in a world of pain the next day but leaving no room for pessimism. She would fight through Aizen's entire army and save the man herself if she had to.

Their dangerous games aside, she owed him far too much to let him die.

A sound caught her attention and she shot a quick glance behind her, in time to see a black blur whip past. Instinctively she planted her feet into the ground, coming to a forceful stop before she could collide with Byakuya, who now stood in her way. "Move!" she yelled at him, panting hard.

"I will not," he said smoothly.

"Have you, in your jealousy, become so cruel as to let the wizard die at the hands of Aizen?" Yoruichi gasped, pushing her hair back from her face. Her ponytail had come undone somehow. She instinctively felt for the ribbon that she used to tie it, only to find it in Byakuya's hand.

"Don't put words in my mouth, cat." He came forward, holding the ribbon out to her. "I never said that we weren't going to rescue the wizard. We simply can't afford to charge blindly into battle. You are a strong woman, but you cannot do this on your own."

Yoruichi searched his face for any sign of dishonesty, but found none. "Byakuya…"

"I am not so petty as to let Urahara be killed, just because you've chosen him."

"Fool! I haven't chosen anyone!" she cried, but she could tell by his expression that he doubted her. "I haven't," she said again, her eyes on the patch of snow between them, "I owe him so much. If he hadn't come to the city and told me I had potential, I would never have gotten to be as strong as I am now. I'd have stayed there forever and wasted away…"

"…with me."

Silence.

Her voice lowered. "Byakuya, I-I didn't mean it that way."

"Come back to the camp, General Shihoin." He remained where he was, the ribbon resting in his palm. "Above all else, your mission is to protect the Promised Child. You can make whatever reckless decisions you'd like _after_ its completion."

Yoruichi closed her eyes. He was right, of course. Kisuke had entrusted her with the task of finding the Promised Child and then keeping a strict eye on her. As worried as she was, she had to stay in Permafrost until some sort of strategy was developed for infiltrating the Emerald City. "Is there a battle plan yet?"

"We have sent word to the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions for further instructions, but we'll begin our march on the city the day after tomorrow without fail. With the Good Witch of the North's spells, we should get there much faster."

"Then we engage the enemy in battle."

Byakuya nodded. "Tell the Promised Child to get plenty of rest. Although I would prefer to keep her out of the ensuing skirmish – and I'm certain that you agree – her Espada guard might have other plans. We will have to keep a close eye on him."

"Of course," Yoruichi took a step forward to retrieve her ribbon. "Oh!" she gasped, her legs buckling from the effort of having carried her so far, and so quickly. Byakuya's arms were around her before she could fall, holding her steady. "I'm sorry," she whispered, wincing as a cramp shot through her calf muscles. "It's been a while, and I wasn't used to the speed."

"I suppose it cannot be helped, then." Byakuya bent forward a bit and helped Yoruichi onto his back, hooking his arms beneath her knees. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her cheek against his shoulder, wondering if he could feel her heart racing.

Ah, this was no time to be thinking of those things; there was a war on the horizon. With Kisuke and the Emerald City in his possession, she had no doubt that Aizen was preparing for a final assault on all of Oz's forces. Hopefully they had at least reached the Spindle region by now. It would be a complete disaster if the several armies were still scattered when the warlock made his move.

Orihime had to be ready as well, and that meant getting rid of Ulquiorra if he would stand in their way. "Byakuya,"

"Hmm,"

"Aizen's Espada… do you know their story?"

"Are you asking me, or are you preparing to inform me? Because in the case of the former, I have been told nothing."

Yoruichi smiled. "Heh," she felt a cold droplet of moisture hit her nose and looked to the sky. Up above, a blanket of clouds had rolled down from the mountains, fresh snowflakes filling the air. "I don't know all the details myself, and honestly, I wouldn't have believed it all if I hadn't seen Kisuke's blueprints with my own two eyes."

"Blueprints?" Byakuya's voice finally took on a note of interest. He frowned. "Just what in the world was that mad man up to?"

Yoruichi held onto him a little tighter as a cold wind passed by. "A commission," she said quietly, "for the King and Queen of Oz."

…

Grimmjow hated the rain, and he hated the snow. Basically, if there was moisture of any sort falling from the sky, he wasn't going to be in the best of moods. Furthermore, cloudy days made him sleepy, and this one was no exception. The fact that he had been burned by one of Rukia's spells didn't make him feel any better either.

He had searched the town up and down for Nel in the hopes that he would find her relatively quickly – perhaps hiding in a barrel or something – but the storm was beginning to cover up the tracks that the soldiers and villagers left behind, and the munchkin was nowhere to be seen. Would she be stupid enough to go after Orihime when the girl was obviously preoccupied with Ulquiorra? Probably not, though the fact that females tended to act especially thoughtless when they were in a state of emotional distress made him doubt his own reasoning.

Taking in a deep breath, he managed to pick up a faint trace of Nel's scent beneath the watery aroma of the snow and followed it out of the village. He walked a considerable distance from the population; after a while, even his sharp ears couldn't pick up the sounds of the camp left behind. The girl sure had run far.

He growled as he smacked a tree branch out of his way. What was he supposed to say, huh? His inability to apologize properly had gotten him several warnings back in his Espada days. _Show respect to your superiors! _Why should he? They'd never done anything for him. Just thinking about it got him pissed off all over again.

But it was his lack of experience in the emotion department that had started all this to begin with, and somewhere along the road he had made some vague promise to himself that he would try to be better about it. And so, when he found Nel sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking a large portion of the snowy forest, sniffling and wiping her cheeks, he resisted every urge to be angry at her for running away. She wouldn't have run if he hadn't pushed her to it; this was his fault, and he had to make amends.

Walking forward, he paused at the edge of the cliff and sat down heavily, letting one leg dangle in the cold air. A quiet minute passed, and then another. _Sniffle_. "Dummy… what are you doing here?" Nel whimpered.

Grimmjow looked at the teary-eyed girl, who appeared to be on the verge of another breakdown. No, he wasn't angry at her; he just had the bad habit of lashing out at others when he was really mad at himself. Nel was an easy target, though definitely the least deserving, because she was so small and defenseless – which made him feel even worse.

Almost hesitantly, he reached out and placed a hand on her head, smoothing down her wild green hair. "Apologizing, like I should have done a long time ago," he answered her, and quickly smothered the tiny bit of hope he held for finding some sort of recognition on her face. "I'm sorry, Nel."

Nel closed her eyes, tears falling away from her lashes as she let out one miserable hiccup after another. Unsure of what else to do to comfort her, Grimmjow kept his hand on her hair, turning his attention back to the whiteness of the valley ahead of them. "I'm so sorry," he said again, though she would never know just how much.

"I-I…" Nel put her small hands on his arm, rubbing her wet cheek against his fingers and sobbing. "I l-love you."

Grimmjow stiffened, then let out a sigh. There was nothing he could do about that. But perhaps now that she'd gotten it off of her chest, she wouldn't be so quick to get lost whenever he said something to upset her.

Of course, that might have been too much wishful thinking.

…

"Ulquiorra-san?" Orihime called out, taking another turn at a tree that she was sure she had already passed. How was it that he always managed to lose her so quickly, but was just as quick to show up when she didn't want him to? Part of being a trained warrior, she supposed. "Ulquiorra-san, if you don't come and stop me, I'll run back to the camp and pledge allegiance to Oz right now!" She stopped and listened to the surrounding forest, but all she could hear was the snow falling lightly onto the ground. Damn it! Did he have some sort of built-in lie detector, too?

Orihime continued to trudge through the woods, wishing she could enjoy the snow a little more. But the sight of the falling flakes made her nostalgic for home. Sora always made the most delicious hot chocolate with marshmallows when it snowed, and together they would sit at the table with their legs beneath the heater, sipping their drinks and talking about everything under the sun.

Would Sora still be looking for her at this point? She had been gone for so long that any hopes of finding her alive would have been demolished. "I wonder if he's lonely," she murmured sadly, gazing up at the sky.

Truthfully, she hadn't thought of that when she had left for America. Sora had been taking care of her for years; it seemed only natural that her leaving would cause him to feel alone. Maybe he'd get himself a nice girlfriend while she was away – or presumed dead – that she could harass if and when she ever got back to Earth. The notion cheered her a bit.

In the meantime, Ulquiorra was still missing. "He's probably walked all the way to the opposite side of the woods, and here I am trudging along by myself, getting hopelessly lost."

Come to think of it, did she remember which was she had come?

She turned around, hoping to find her tracks in the snow, but they were hardly visible with the fresh powder filling them. "Oh…" She observed her surroundings: trees, trees and more trees. The cold air was creeping into her bones like the fear welling up in her stomach, the snow falling harder than before, limiting visibility. "Ulquiorra-san?" she tried calling out to him, hoping that he would hear her this time.

How was it that she was always losing him in places like this? What if there were bears or wolves – or at least, Oz's equivalent of such creatures – in these woods? Aww hell, she hadn't thought of that before charging into the wilderness in pursuit of a man who could vanish in a flash.

Deciding that she should move around to get the blood circulating through her body, she began forward again, a bit more hurriedly than before. With any luck, she was just being paranoid and would soon find herself back at Permafrost. Yoruichi would be there, having been reasoned with by General Kuchiki, and Grimmjow and Nel were sure to greet her with some enthusiasm. Ah, maybe Ulquiorra was there, too! Who was to say that he had stayed in the woods at all? Perhaps he'd simply gone in and come back shortly after. She had gotten lost out of her own stubbornness, which she was bound to be scolded for –

Her foot fell onto pure air. Instinctively she took another step forward to try and catch her balance, but that foot met nothing as well, and it was then that she realized with horror that she hadn't felt since seeing Nnoitra's corpse beneath her convertible that she had walked straight off of a cliff.

Far below her were treetops, and above her, rapidly growing farther away, was safety, the edge that she had neglected to see in her panic. The wind was whistling in her ears, arms swiping furiously at the air in the hopes that she could somehow lift herself back up to the cliff. But it was no good; gravity functioned here just as well as it did back on Earth. She was falling fast, the fur coat doing nothing to impede her plummet.

The wind was stinging her eyes, filling them with hot tears. She wished that she could lose consciousness, or die _before _she hit the ground. No reason to feel all the pain, no matter how instantaneous her death would be. Maybe she would be impaled by a tree; that'd be a lovely sight. All of that crimson blood pouring out onto the pure and driven snow.

She looked up through her tears, and there, now far above her, was Ulquiorra. A horrible shudder went through her. She could just barely make out the shape of his body, hands in his pockets, what she was sure was the same deadpanned expression on his face as usual.

_If you die along the way, it is because of your own carelessness._ Right… he'd said that, hadn't he? The man was under no obligation to save her.

Then why was she holding her hand out to him? Why did her fingers stretch out towards his white-clad form as she continued to drop? Why was she expecting him to risk his own life by doing something stupid like diving off of the cliff after her? He was a smart guy. He saw the distance between her and the ground. He knew that there was nothing he could do for her at this point. It was no good, it was hopeless…

She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw him lean out a little further to get a better look at her… and then his body separated from the edge, from safety, and he began to fall as well. Orihime's eyes widened.

He didn't even try to stop or slow down in any way. She was reminded of videos she had watched of people sky-diving on television, how they would press their limbs together to fall faster, like speeding bullets on a collision course with the earth below. It was amazing; he was actually catching up to her. But so was the ground. Any moment now she would feel the jarring impact and then wake up in the afterlife, or back in New Mexico, depending on whether or not Oz even existed.

Ulquiorra was close enough now that she could see the expression on his face, and it left her completely speechless. Not anger, not irritation, not fear. He was looking at her the way Sora would look at her after she, in her childhood, would trip and fall: concern, but more than anything else, reassurance.

She was going to be okay. He was there now, and she was going to be fine.

His fingertips touched hers, then slid forward until their palms were cradled together. He took a firm grip of her hand. With one rough tug, he pulled her into an embrace and turned forcefully so that his back was facing the approaching ground. Orihime's blood ran even colder; was he going to take the hit _for _her?

She had no more time to react before there came the jarring impact that knocked out what little air was left in her lungs. Stars burst before her eyes, her head and the world around her spinning at a nauseating angle. But she was alive, and no longer falling, and immediately she gasped for enough breath to scream. "_Ulquiorra-san!_"

He was dead, wasn't he? There was no way that he'd survived the fall, he'd been going so fast. She wouldn't be surprised if what she was laying on was the only solid part left of his body, the rest shattered and blown to bits.

"Don't make such a fuss. It's annoying."

Orihime's heart skipped a beat. She lifted her head and found herself staring straight into Ulquiorra's eyes, which were narrowed down at her as if he were looking at something distasteful. "What…?" Pulling away from him a bit, she turned her head and realized that they were still quite a ways from the ground, suspended in the air. "How…?"

And then she saw them. "Ulquiorra-san," she breathed in wonder, marveling at the two enormous black wings that had sprouted from his back. Sorely tempted as she was to touch them, she was trembling far too much to move anymore than necessary. She felt her heart thrashing about and thought that she might faint from the collective shock of what had just transpired, but she felt no dizzy spells beckoning her into oblivion. She merely stared into Ulquiorra's eyes questioningly, wishing she had a voice with which to speak what was on her mind.

He'd saved her life after blatantly stating that he wouldn't.

"Are you injured, woman?" he asked her almost gently as the two wings flexed, then pushed them upwards.

Why had he done it? "N-No."

Ulquiorra looked away from her. "Please refrain from wandering off on your own from now on," he ordered her without much enthusiasm. "This land is dangerous, and it would be troublesome if you died." She thought she might have seen his jaw clench. "Lord Aizen wishes to see you again in the near future. He hopes that by this time you will have been swayed to sympathize with him; that you might stay in Oz, abandon your friends and become his new queen."

"_What_?" Orihime cried, but it came out as a breathy gasp. He was flying faster now, the cliff cleared, forest passing by beneath them.

"Why else would he show you the hougyoku? He has been planning this from the start," Ulquiorra continued. "My orders were not to escort you to the Emerald City out of some bizarre courtesy, woman. I was to lead you to Lord Aizen after you had displayed the power of the Six-Petal Flowers and it was confirmed that they would be useful to him."

"Wait a minute!" She could see the village clearly, some of the soldiers on the ice pointing up at them.

"Your companions wished for you to get information from me, so you would be wise to pay attention," he said, cutting off her ramblings. "Lord Aizen has fused the hougyoku's powers with his own body. Basically, if it is destroyed, he will go with it. But the only way to destroy the hougyoku is to reject its very existence." He stared pointedly at her hairclips as he lowered them slowly to the surface of the frozen lake.

Orihime grabbed a fistful of his uniform. "_Wait_!" she stared up at him as soldiers scattered to call for Byakuya or Rukia or Yoruichi – whoever was able and available to help. Her expression bewildered, she held his gaze, unblinking, as if their lives depended on it. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Ulquiorra's wings faded into black ash, the snow swirling around them, his hands coming up to slowly untangle hers from his shirt. But once freed, he held them a bit longer than he'd meant to. "If you think yourself clever enough to hide where your loyalties lie, you are sadly mistaken." He looked over her shoulder at the approaching company: the witch, the lieutenant and the two generals. His hands slipped away from hers. "Consider this payment for my initial deceit. I may be your enemy, but I am by no means dishonest."

Orihime could hear the footsteps of the others crunching in the snow. "Thank you," she whispered, wondering why her heart was still beating so unsteadily.

Soon her friends were upon her, and after almost hurtling to her death, the fact that Grimmjow and Nel had gone missing made her light-headed and woozy until they appeared half an hour later, the munchkin asleep in his arms. Orihime was more than grateful when Rukia showed her to her quarters, and relieved that Ulquiorra was giving her more breathing space by not staying in the same room as her.

There were two hours before dinner, during which Byakuya would apparently address the soldiers concerning what was to be done to save The Great Wizard, so Orihime decided to take a nap. As she lay her head on the pillow to rest, she began thinking of what she had been told upon returning from her near death experience. According to Yoruichi, they would be headed to the battlefield very soon. To say that she was terrified would be fairly accurate, but as she drifted into dreamland, the darkness of her slumber began to take form.

In that hazy world, she was still falling, plunging to her doom; only, what lay below was a graveyard of weapons and wands with ragged edges waiting to rip into her. And yet oddly enough, she wasn't afraid of them, because if she really thought about it, she wasn't dropping it all.

No, she was flying, high above Oz and Earth, the Emerald City and New Mexico, tornadoes and past heartaches… safe and secure in Ulquiorra's arms.

**To Be Continued**


	17. Choices

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, The Wizard of Oz, or other copyrighted things!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Choices**

Strategizing had never been Orihime's strongpoint. Whenever she had played video games with Sora or her male friends, she'd been the kind of player to run headlong onto the battlefield and be mercilessly slaughtered a couple dozen times before she'd figured out how to defeat the boss. But this was real life – she supposed – and she wasn't going to get any second chances.

Unfortunately she found herself the topic of debate between the military leaders, who had set up a communication module in Permafrost's city hall to get in touch with the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions. On screen, General Hitsugaya was clearly visible, while Kenpachi's head and shoulders were cut off. "I think it would be best if Orihime stayed out of the battle," the boy was saying, his arms crossing over his chest. "She needs to be prepared to fight Aizen, not whatever small fry she encounters along the way."

"While I agree with you, the Promised Child's powers could come in handy," Byakuya countered. "A lot of lives will be saved with her among us."

"And besides, where would we leave her otherwise? If she's Aizen's target, we can assume that he'll be attempting to kidnap her the moment our backs are turned," Yoruichi added with a half-hearted glare in Ulquiorra's direction. They were risking a lot by having him present in the room, but he had given them a wealth of information and so deserved a little bit of trust. He was still flanked by two guards, which Orihime had declared unjust and demanded that she be guarded as well, thus the two soldiers at her sides.

Byakuya turned to look at Ulquiorra. "Would you care to tell us what you know of your master's plans?"

"I already have," the Espada replied. "How would I know of anything else when I have not once returned Lord Aizen's fortress?"

Orihime pressed her lips together. "But there's no way that I'm his only target. I mean, he started this war for a reason, right? Long before I even got here," she tried to catch Ulquiorra's eye, willing him to say more, but he ignored her.

"Sure. He wants to remove all the non-magical humans from existence," Toshiro said, his brow furrowing in thought. "Though in order to do that, he would have to be in control of Oz, and he can't do that simply by killing the Great Wizard."

Orihime blinked. "You mean the Wizard isn't the highest power in Oz?"

At this comment, everyone stared at her a moment before glaring at Yoruichi, who held up her hands. "Hey! I didn't have time to explain _everything_!" she cried, her cheeks flushed. "Besides, you would think that she'd get the hint, considering the fact that all of our currency has crowns on it."

Rukia looked at Orihime. "Basically, the Wizard is the most skilled magician in Oz. That doesn't make him the highest power, however. Our world is ruled by a monarchy; a lazy one, at that. Years before the war started, the King and Queen of Oz were greatly feared and highly respected. Fighters and magicians the world over trained to become a part of the honorable Royal Guard so that they could be in the presence of the reigning couple and their prestigious courts."

"The current monarchy," Yoruichi added, "is a sad pair of cowards. Basically, they leave all of the work and protection of the world in Kisuke's hands while they hide in their protected city, behind their high walls and elite bodyguards."

"The domain itself is protected by magic. It can only be reached by the Emerald City, and even then the Great Wizard must take off numerous seals before he can let a single person through." Toshiro's body had become tense, his fists clenching at his sides. "So that's what he's after, then. He wishes to execute the Great Wizard, invade the royal city, kill the King and Queen, then take the throne with the Promised Child and replace the Royal Guard with his Espada."

Orihime wished Ulquiorra would glance her way, but his gaze was fixed disinterestedly ahead, hands in his pockets.

Grimmjow, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, spoke up for the first time. "That would explain the excitement in Aizen's stronghold when everyone learned that the Royal Guard, for the most part, had disbanded."

"Who could blame them? The new King and Queen are an embarrassment to our world. Still, I would prefer them a thousand times over a dictator." Rukia crossed her arms and turned to the communication module. "We'll take Orihime with us when we go into battle. It's not like we have any other choice, and Byakuya's right. There will be fewer casualties this way."

Toshiro sighed. "If that's what you think is best, then fine. In the meantime, we will depart from Overton tomorrow to get closer to the warlock's stronghold."

"_Is that Orihime over there? Hi Orihime! Captain! Psst, hey, captain, tell her I said hi!_"

"Matsumoto says hi," General Hitsugaya grumbled shortly before he was knocked aside by the woman's enormous chest, which then proceeded to fill the screen.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes," Grimmjow snickered.

"Orihime!" Rangiku pulled back, her cheeks flushed with alcohol as she waved frantically. "Hey girl! Hope you're not freezing your ass off up there! Make a snow angel for me, 'kay?"

Orihime lifted her hand and waved back. "Sure thing, Rangiku-chan," she said quickly, hoping to get the woman out of sight. She saw Byakuya rub his temples, Yoruichi whack Grimmjow upside the head for leering, and Rukia attempting to cover Renji's eyes – when she couldn't reach him physically, she conjured a blindfold.

"_Matsumoto!_"

"Whoops! Gotta go!" Rangiku promptly disappeared from view, as did General Hitsugaya as he left in pursuit of her. Kenpachi stooped over until his face was visible on screen.

"Best of luck to you, Sixth Division, Promised Child and friends. Please take the Emerald City back from the warlock and restore the Great Wizard back to power." The communication was then switched off, everyone falling into their own private conversations. Byakuya summoned Renji and Rukia, Yoruichi and Grimmjow to the adjoining room for further instructions.

"What should I do in the mean time?" Orihime asked as they headed into the meeting.

Yoruichi smiled at her over her shoulder. "Get some sleep, Hime. It's late."

"Nel's been out cold since the afternoon, so you don't have to worry about her," Grimmjow added, looking distracted at the mention of the munchkin.

"Oh, okay." Orihime couldn't hide her disappointment as she turned away from them, finding her way to the door. Ulquiorra followed, silent as a shadow. Night had fallen, and the town was illuminated by a combination of campfires and house lights. A few soldiers were patrolling, but otherwise, the lanes were empty. "I know that I'm the main concern here, but I can't help feeling like I should be doing more," Orihime said to Ulquiorra, crossing her arms over her hips. "I'm the Promised Child, right? Yoruichi-san told me that even General Kenpachi admitted that he'd been expecting someone more experienced in battle."

Silence. She looked at Ulquiorra, who had been staring off to the side. His gaze met hers. "Were you expecting advice? I am not here to comfort you."

Orihime's shoulders sagged. "I guess not." She kept forgetting who she was talking to.

Ulquiorra observed her slumping posture a moment longer before letting out a barely audible sigh. "You and your companions have nothing to worry about. Lord Aizen's army will not harm you as long as you stick close to me. They know their orders and mine," he disregarded her surprised expression, "which have not changed."

Orihime blinked and turned her back to him. "Oh." Ulquiorra frowned – what was with that completely unbothered tone? "I see." See _what_? They took a few steps more before she spoke again. "Then I have a question for you, Ulquiorra-san. Forgive me if I'm being too forward." She stopped walking and he stopped as well, painfully aware of the soldiers standing around in the snow, watching them. "When the time comes, will you deliver me to Aizen?"

Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes. Was she trying to engage him in mind games again? "Those are my orders, yes."

"I-I know that they're your orders, but that's not what I asked." Orihime couldn't help but think of earlier, when he had saved her from certain death. He hadn't been ordered to do _that_, which meant that he had the capacity to make decisions for himself. "Will you stand against Yoruichi-san, Grimmjow, the kind generals, and betray me to fulfill your master's wishes?"

"You are implying that the two of us have some sort of kinship." Ulquiorra kept the ice in his voice firm. "Have I not made it perfectly clear that I am not a part of your group; that my allegiance is with Lord Aizen, not Oz?"

"I suppose you have."

"Well then, there is your answer."

"But you know what?" Orihime glanced at him again, and Ulquiorra's eyes widened at the sight of her. She was… smiling? He had told her that he was going to bring her in to an evil warlock and she was _smiling_? "You'll probably agree that this is stupid of me, but when you say things like that, I just don't believe you." She drew the fur coat closer to her neck, an instinctive sign of unease. "Because for someone that's supposed to be so predictable, I've found myself being surprised by you, Ulquiorra. More than once. It might be silly of me to say so, but I'm almost looking forward to it these days."

A familiar sickness came over him. "And if you were to be _un_pleasantly surprised?"

"Then it would be my fault for being stubborn and not listening to you," Orihime answered simply.

Ulquiorra's hands clenched in his pockets, his mouth drawing into a thin line as the ill feeling washed over him. He was angry. He wanted to yell at her, to tell her that putting her faith in him was useless. He wasn't some emotional human that was prone to having changes of heart. Hell, he didn't even have a heart to change. The woman _knew _this, and yet she insisted on clinging to the hope that he would let her off the hook.

It was a ridiculous notion. Everything that he did, he did for Lord Aizen and his ambition, having been created for that purpose _alone_. Who was this woman to go and try to alter his destiny?

"Anyway, I'm sorry for bringing it up, and for insulting you, if I did. I've had a bad habit of rejecting reality since I was little. Guess I never grew out of it, huh?"

"Woman – "

"Orihime!" They both lifted their heads, seeking out the source of the voice until they eventually spotted Nel running towards them, dodging passing soldiers. The munchkin girl promptly threw her arms around Orihime's leg. "Where did everybody go?"

"We were in a war meeting. Did you wake up just now?"

She nodded twice, then gasped and buried her face into the fur coat, letting out a high pitched whine. "Big sis, I said something really embarrassing to Grimmjow earlier!" Turning pleading eyes up at Orihime, Nel stuck her bottom lip out, tears gathering in her eyes. "I can't spend the night with him and Yoruichi today! Can I stay with you?"

Orihime opened her mouth to say yes, but stopped herself and looked to Ulquiorra for permission. He was already walking away, his posture stiff. "Sure, sweetie," she offered Nel a smile, "I could use the company."

…

With the strategy meeting over, everyone returned to their respective sleeping quarters, most of them desperate to get some rest before the battle, though many would be too anxious to actually fall asleep. War was nothing new to the Sixth Division. They had already engaged Aizen's troops several times in the past, suffered a serious number of casualties, and witnessed their fearless general take down an Espada with his own two hands while injured.

However, Byakuya was anything but fearless at the moment, though one wouldn't have been able to guess so by his expression. He had just entered his private quarters to retire for the night and found Yoruichi there, sitting on the windowsill. Her own face betrayed nothing; the fur coat was still wrapped tightly around her body, though she had removed her shoes. "Can we talk?" she asked him quietly.

Byakuya shed his extra layers, hanging the clothing up by the door. "You should be resting," he answered noncommittally. "Don't you have a wizard to save tomorrow?"

"I can't… I won't be able to sleep until we get whatever this out in the open." Yoruichi pulled away from the window, approaching him on silent feet. He didn't speak, instead choosing to fiddle with the position of his scarf on the hook. "I know that you're mad, and I don't blame you for it. You have every right to be. The way that I just up and left without saying anything to anyone, not even you, who mattered the most…"

"If I mattered so much, then you wouldn't have left."

"I was young!" Yoruichi bit her bottom lip and lowered her voice again. "All I wanted was to have some kind of adventure, something that I couldn't do at home. And I had this fear that you would try to talk me out of it; that I'd grow to resent you for it because you were fine with being a noble. You were content to just stay there. _I wasn't_."

Byakuya remained motionless; even his hands had stopped worrying over the scarf. He felt the warmth of her body behind him shortly before she pressed her forehead between his shoulder blades.

"If I had let you stop me… if I'd let the opportunity pass me by, it wouldn't matter what happened between us later. I would always wonder what I had missed. I'd hate myself for it. I'd hate _you _for it, and that's the last thing that I wanted," Yoruichi whispered. "I thought that I would get my kicks and come home. That was my initial intention, anyway."

"Then what changed your mind?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She gave him a few seconds to respond, but he didn't. "It was Hisana." The tension in his body suddenly became more pronounced. "I wrote a letter to Kukaku Shiba, basically filling her in on what I was doing. She wrote me back, giving me a thorough chewing out for running the way I did, then proceeded to fill me in on the happenings back home." Yoruichi laughed. "_By the way, don't worry about Byakuya; he wallowed for a while, but he's moved on. Got himself a new love interest named Hisana – gorgeous, soft-spoken, and humble to boot. She's a real keeper. I haven't seen him smile the way he does now since… well, since you were around_."

"Was I not entitled to move on? You'd gone off with the likes of Kisuke Urahara."

"Nothing happened between us before I got that letter, you idiot." Yoruichi pulled away from him. "Kisuke remembered seeing the two of us together. He knew that I had someone I cared about, and he respected that. Besides, he was too busy chasing tail to really even think about pursuing me." She closed her eyes. "It wasn't until he saw how deeply upset I was that he began to pay attention. He was there for me; insisted that I didn't have to tell him anything, but was always sure to express how much he wanted me to feel better. Hell, when I broke down and told him what had gotten me so down, he even suggested that I go home to talk to you."

Byakuya nodded. "You did come home."

"I did," Yoruichi sighed, "and all we ended up doing was having some tryst, then fighting and pointing fingers, getting absolutely nowhere."

"You said that at least Kisuke bothered to listen to you."

"And you said that at least Hisana would have the decency to warn you before she left." She buried her face in her hands. "God, we really made a mess of things, didn't we?"

Byakuya turned in her direction. "It would seem that the both of us are too hot-tempered and stubborn to ever make a relationship work." He wrapped his arms around her trembling shoulders, bringing her back against his chest. "But I'm willing to try." He turned her to face him, and her eyes were glossy with tears. "To make up for my foolishness," he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and slipped his hands into her hair. "I do not regret my relationship with Hisana, as I'm sure that you don't regret your relationship with Urahara, but I will _never_ forgive myself for making you cry."

Yoruichi whimpered as he pulled her into a tender kiss. There was no anger, no urgency… just a passion that made her stomach twist itself into several knots as she let the fur coat fall away from her body, pooling on the floor around her feet. He drew back to meet her gaze, wiping the tears that had found their way to her jaw. "I love you, Yoruichi Shihoin."

She choked out a sob, thinking of the Great Wizard in the Emerald City, waiting for her to choose. _I'm sorry, Kisuke. _"I love you too, Byakuya," she whispered as their lips met again, and she allowed him to sweep her off into the night.

…

"_You told him that you loved him_?" Orihime cried, immediately going into mother hen mode. "What did he say? Did he tell you that he loved you back? Because while that would be great and all, you're extremely young, and I don't think it would be proper for you to rush into things."

Nel pouted indignantly, picking at the hem of her nightgown "He didn't say anything," she mumbled, to which Orihime breathed a sigh of relief. "And I know that I'm too young for him. He's like a bazillion years older than me."

Orihime kept her voice low, knowing that Ulquiorra was on the other side of the bedroom door. "You could always wait until you've grown up a bit."

"Ha! By then he'd be an old geezer with gray hair and everything."

"Oh, Grimmjow isn't _that _old." She patted her bedside and Nel climbed up to join her. "Look on the bright side: at least he wasn't a complete jerk about it. Some guys prey on vulnerable girls because they're easy targets."

Nel wrapped her arms around her knees. "I wish he was a jerk. Then I'd have a real excuse to get over him." The two then basked in the peace of the evening, listening to the sounds outside the window: armor clattering as nervous soldiers prepared for the coming battle, the crackling of campfires, the occasional murmur of voices. Then Nel spoke again, looking up at Orihime. "Hey, so, when we rescue the Great Wizard, are you still going to wish to go home?" She lowered her head. "I mean, I know you probably miss your friends and your brother, but we'll really miss you too."

Orihime gasped. She'd been so preoccupied with Ulquiorra and the war lately that she had completely forgotten about the whole wish business. "Well, are _you _still going to wish for courage?" she asked, effectively diverting the question.

"Of course! Then I'll be able to help fight in the war, because I won't want to run away from the danger!" Nel cried, grinning widely as she sprang to her feet. "I'll take those nasty soldiers of the warlock's and give 'em the old right hook!" This she punctuated with an enthusiastic punch into the air. "And if the Espada try to cero me, I'll just swallow 'em up and shoot 'em right back at them!"

"Haha, okay! You'd better have my back, then," Orihime held out her hand to Nel and the girl shook it twice, "because I could definitely use some offensive power."

"It's too bad those hairpins of yours can't attack or anything," Nel said, plopping back down and crawling towards the pillow. "I'm sleepy!"

"You spent most of the day sleeping!" Orihime joined her and pulled the covers up around both of them, giving the munchkin a reassuring pat on the head as she lay down. "But okay, we'll sleep away all the nervousness so we can be ready to take on the warlock with our brave faces."

Nel's large green eyes peered at her in the darkness. "You don't seem very scared."

Of course she didn't. She couldn't afford to be scared. Not when so much was resting on her shoulders. Then again, it wasn't as if they were going after Aizen himself the next day. It was just one of his generals; someone like Ulquiorra, probably lower in rank, though they would have a large number of soldiers at their disposal, whereas he was just one person.

And besides, it wasn't just the five of them anymore. They had Rukia and her brother, Renji and all of the Sixth Division's well-trained fighters, and most important of all, _a strategy_. She was nervous, certainly; young women like her didn't face war every day. But did she really have anything to fear with all of her allies surrounding her, and the promise of the enemy that she would be left in peace?

Orihime tapped the munchkin girl on the nose. "I just do a very good job of hiding it."

…

Ulquiorra stood silently in the hall, hands in his pockets, back against the wall. The conversation from within had tapered off into sleepy murmurs, which were eventually silenced as sleep overcame the woman and the girl.

At the moment he was trying to bring up everything he could recall about Luppi Antenor, Grimmjow's replacement, but the facts escaped him as Nel's question repeated itself in the emptiness of the corridor:

_Are you still going to wish to go home?_

The woman came from a foreign land. Her whole purpose of traveling thus far was to plead with the wizard to send her back. But considering the stance she had recently taken on the war, he had expected her to tell the munchkin no. Instead, she had rerouted the question and avoided it entirely.

_Was _she planning on escaping while she had the chance, especially now that she knew of Lord Aizen's true intentions? When she had asked him earlier if he was still keen on carrying out his mission, was she looking for an excuse to flee? Or had she perhaps been voicing her own thoughts aloud, looking to him for some twisted form of guidance?

The thought of the woman returning to her world of origin stirred up an onslaught of confusing feelings in Ulquiorra; some strange hybrid of relief and unrest that made him cut off his thoughts at once. He shouldn't have been feeling _anything_. The only unnerving part of that detail was supposed to be the thought of his master's wrath upon learning that his future queen had gotten away. And yet, he couldn't help but think that Lord Aizen wouldn't care either way. If he had the woman, that was okay. If he didn't have her, that was fine as well.

Whether the woman was at his side, dead, or gone, he would still be the victor in the end.

…

The golden sun rose on the Emerald City, catching off of the castle's spires and shining obnoxious lights in Kisuke Urahara's face, effectively rousing him from his slumber. With a great yawn, he scratched at the fuzz on his chin, wishing that his captor would at least allow him enough time in the bathroom to shave… or more length on the chain around his neck so that he could stand up every few hours.

Being kept behind a curtain – and an ineffective one at that, as it had not prevented sunlight from entering the cramped, closet-sized space in which he was being held – was not fun. He made a mental note to never do it again.

"Rise and shine!" General Luppi Antenor cried as he threw back the sheet of fabric and grinned maniacally down on his prey. With the sun at his back and shadows on his face, the young Espada looked twice as menacing as usual. "The day of reckoning has come at last! Would you like to observe?"

Kisuke waved his hand. "Oh, no, I'm fine where I am."

Luppi leaned down and hoisted him up by the shirt collar, causing the chain to snag around his neck and choke him. "Well that's too damn bad," he hissed, standing aside to give Kisuke a view of the large window that framed almost the entire mountain range and the valleys alongside it. "Look closely, my friend. You see that dark mass emerging from the woods?"

Kisuke did see it, but pretended not to. "The sun's in my eyes," he gagged.

Luppi rolled his eyes in disgust and pointed through his sleeves. "There. Right there, the one moving abnormally fast for something so big," he let Kisuke fall back onto the floor. "Those are your precious friends coming to save you. Your wonderful, cherished, _doomed _friends!" he sang giddily. "Don't you feel _sorry_ for them, spending _days_ out in the cold, only to descend the mountains and die for _your_ sake?"

"Not particularly," Kisuke crossed his legs and popped his back, sighing in relief. "But I am of the opinion that they are going to win this battle."

Luppi laughed. "I'll leave you to your disappointment, then." He grabbed the curtain and snapped it shut, enclosing the small space in darkness while he went to lean out the window eagerly.

At the same time, atop Mount Oz, Warlock Aizen had his eyes on the army that had camped closer to his fortress and his crystal ball on the one approaching the Emerald City. He felt no fear, no anxiety, and had no doubt in his mind that the odds were completely in his favor. This battle would be just one victory of many. Once he had triumphed over the Sixth Division, he would personally pay a visit to the city to retrieve the Promised Child, then execute the generals and the pesky wizard as well.

Of course, he would do all of this after finding out how to open the path to the royal city. In the mean time, he returned to his throne and sat down, making himself comfortable. On the surface of the crystal ball, he saw the army coming to the ruined gates of the Emerald City and smirked.

"Alright, Oz. It's your move."

**To Be Continued**


	18. Battle of the Sixes

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any other copyright material!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Battle of the Sixes**

Chaos. The Sixth Division had fully been expecting to find chaos when they entered the Emerald City, not complete and utter silence. The Yellow Brick Road that led up to the castle was scattered with leaves and twigs that blew about helplessly in the wind. The houses and storefronts flanking it, the cobblestone lanes that surrounded the metropolis; all were glaringly empty, not a sign of life anywhere. No birds chirped, no people came running out yelling for help, no enemy army stood to oppose them. It was a ghost town.

Orihime shrank closer to Ulquiorra's back, not liking the scene at all. Where _was _everybody? Surely it hadn't been just Luppi who came to conquer. Surely he wouldn't stand up to them on his own. She looked up at Ulquiorra questioningly, and noticed that his eyes were slowly surveying the entire area. He turned his head, glaring at an empty café. "Hmm."

"What is it?" she whispered to him, her heart threatening to jump right out of her chest.

Ulquiorra opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a loud cry from up ahead. "_Hey_!" called the voice of Luppi Antenor, who sat on top of the Emerald Castle's tallest spire. He waved at the army cheerfully, his sleeves dancing in the wind. "It's about time all of you showed up!"

Yoruichi, who was on the front lines, addressed him first. "Where's the Wizard?"

Luppi tapped his chin as if he wasn't sure who she was talking about. "You mean the Great Wizard of Oz, Kisuke Urahara? The oh-so-powerful wizard who can't do shit without his wand, which I happen to have in my hand?" From behind him, a white tentacle lifted into the air, showing off what appeared to be an ordinary wooden cane. "He's right here, of course," Luppi said, bringing another tentacle into view. This one held the Wizard himself, who seemed right at home despite the fact that he was being squeezed around the arms and waist.

"Good morning, Yoruichi-san! You're looking rather lovely! All of that time on Earth sure did you some good, huh?" Kisuke cried, attempting to wave with a sandal-clad foot.

"Moron! Don't go acting like everything's peachy! This is a war!" Yoruichi yelled at him, waving her fists in the air in frustration. "And what did you mean _did me some good_? I was a freaking cat for five years!"

Kisuke whined. "I can't even make an observation? So cruel, Yoruichi-san! I thought you would miss me!" And then he took to fake-crying, kicking his legs. "What a heartless woman! Wouldn't you say so, Luppi-san? Isn't she being absolutely terrible to me?"

"Shut up!" Luppi snapped, jostling him. "You're such a pest!" He glared back down at the Sixth Division. "Anyway, I suppose you can come and get me if you'd like, though I doubt you'll make it very far."

"What? There's no one here," several of the soldiers murmured while Orihime tentatively reached out for Ulquiorra's sleeve.

"What's going on?" she asked, and he turned his head to address her.

"It's an ambush," Ulquiorra replied, nodding towards the empty storefronts. "The army is hiding within the buildings, cloaked by magic."

"_What_? Why didn't you say something sooner?" Orihime cried, just as Nel – who was clinging to Grimmjow's shoulders – sensed the soldiers and began yelling to Yoruichi. But in that precise moment, the buildings burst as the army of otherworldly beings charged forward, descending on the Sixth Division like a flock of vultures.

Atop the castle's spire, Luppi let out a bark of a laugh and stood up, waving at the fighting forces over his head. "If anyone needs me, I'll be inside!" He got a few steps towards the window before he became distracted and stopped to admire the mayhem below. Aizen's forces continued to pour from the houses, businesses and restaurants, filling the streets and the air in a writhing mass of white. The battle had just started, and already the Sixth Division was realizing that they were sadly outnumbered. He glanced at Kisuke with a self-satisfied smirk. "Are you still in denial about this victory belonging to me?"

Urahara watched the battle as well, wincing as the bright flashes of ceros illuminated the city, structures exploding left and right, the aftershock rattling the castle a second or two later. "What makes you say that?"

Luppi growled. "Are you _blind_? They're getting massacred out there! We simply have too many soldiers. They're overwhelmed!"

Kisuke shrugged and smiled happily. "No, I don't think so," he said, just as a high-pitched whistle pierced the air. Breaking out into a full grin, he did his best to point out towards the action with his foot. "Look again, Luppi-san. I think the numbers have evened out a bit."

"What are you talking about?" Luppi demanded, turning his attention back to the battle. It was then that he noticed the treetops in the distance becoming black, as if a swarm of insects were passing through. "What _is _that?" He brought Kisuke closer to him, jabbing a finger towards the shadowy wave. "Tell me what that is!"

"That," Kisuke wheezed around the squeezing tentacle, "is the Second Division."

"_What_?"

"Surprise!" The Wizard kicked his legs energetically. "It's an ambush!"

Down below, Yoruichi laughed as she knocked back a large creature with a gaping mouth and a hole in its chest. It had been so long since she had seen her own army, but she was glad that they could still appear in a heartbeat when she called out to them. In front of her, three black-clad Second Division soldiers landed, straightening and turning to face her.

"Good to have you back, General Shihoin," one of them said before they charged into the fight.

She made quick work of the opponent that Byakuya was engaged with and offered him a playful smile. "Aren't you glad that I thought to include them in the strategy?" she asked, to which he discreetly rolled his eyes. "Right, I'll brag later." There was still a battle to attend to, after all. She looked over her shoulder in time to see Grimmjow fire a cero straight into the enemy's forces, wiping out a good chunk of the weaker ones, then whirl around to rip apart a monster that had been targeting Nel. Yoruichi could tell that some of Aizen's soldiers were having a hard time deciding whether or not to attack Grimmjow; fighting for Oz or not, he'd still been one of them at some point. But he seemed to have his mind made up, tearing through them with ease.

"Hey, cat woman! I'm going to fight that bastard up there, so you guys just worry about the small fry and catch up as soon as possible!"

"Wait!" Yoruichi jumped over a lunging creature and landed in front of Grimmjow, reaching into her clothing for a white slip of paper with a magical sign on it. "A gift from Rukia."

Grimmjow examined it, a maniacal grin coming to his face. "Is this what I think it is?"

"It is, but it's the only one you're getting, so use it wisely!"

On another street, Orihime extended her healing shield to a number of soldiers that had just been blown back by a monstrous half-man. What _were _these things? They couldn't have been modified humans, like Ulquiorra and Grimmjow; they looked as if they were made of white stone. Her head whipped about frantically, searching for Ulquiorra in the chaos. He had started walking ahead a while ago but she'd lost sight of him, as she often did. Why did that man have to choose to disappear at the most inconvenient…

A loud roar bellowed from her left and she turned, eyes widening in horror as a fat, flying beast swooped down towards her, its wide mouth open. Orihime shrieked and held up her arms in defense, feeling lightheaded at the realization that she was about to die. But at the last moment, the creature stopped and veered off to the side, attacking one of the Second Division's soldiers instead.

When no death came, Orihime looked up, blinking in confusion. None of those monsters were attacking her.

Aizen had made good on his promise.

"Woman," Ulquiorra's voice came from directly behind her, causing her to scream in alarm. She clasped her hands over her mouth and turned to face him. "Don't dawdle. Let's go."

Orihime's hairpins returned to her, but she immediately sent them back out to a man lying injured on the ground. "Go where?" He gestured towards the castle, where Luppi had just ducked into the window with Kisuke in his grasp. "No, wait, not yet! I have to stay behind to heal everyone!"

"The Good Witch of the North can take care of that," Ulquiorra said shortly.

"She doesn't have an infinite amount of magical power to waste, you know!" Orihime chewed her lip anxiously, trying to think. Everywhere she looked, someone was being cut down, torn apart, thrown into the wreckage of buildings. Fires were burning, the air blanketed by a thickening smoke that threatened to put Oz's forces at a severe disadvantage. What could she do? She was the Promised Child, right? She should have been able to end this, but how?

An idea hit her like a thunderbolt. "Ulquiorra-san!" she cried, grabbing his arm. He looked down at the contact as if he were two seconds away from ripping her hand off. "Take me to where Rukia is! Perhaps there _is _something I can ask of her."

…

_That idiotic bastard_, Grimmjow thought as he charged through the Emerald Castle relatively unopposed, Nel holding onto his neck. Why was the security so lax in here? Was he really that cocky? Well, this was Luppi; such a thing shouldn't have surprised him. He'd always hated that ass-kissing octopus kid, even more now that he'd become his replacement. What was the warlock thinking, filling his spot with that prissy boy, of all people?

"Where to, Nel?" he asked as he encountered a stairway that split off in two different directions.

The munchkin girl squinted at each path before pointing a chubby finger to the right. "That way!" she squealed as he took off running again, grasping the front of his uniform even tighter. Her hands were trembling, something that she was sure the blue-haired man had noticed, but chosen not to comment on. She was so terrified that she wanted to cry, but she knew that as long as Grimmjow was there, she would be safe.

"This castle could be a little smaller!" Grimmjow barked as he ascended yet another flight of stairs, finally coming to the large room visible from the square below. There was a communication module hooked up on the far wall next to the window, and a throne-like chair in the center of the space. It reminded him a bit of Aizen's viewing chamber, only the décor was much friendlier, albeit in pieces. Tapestries with the royal family's insignia had been ripped to shreds or painted with Aizen's elaborate magical circle, but the happier colors still prevailed, and the warmth of the room was a stark contrast to the icy fortress in which the warlock resided.

Nel looked around the empty space. "Where did they go?"

"Up here."

Grimmjow's head snapped towards the ceiling in time to see Luppi rush at him. He dodged quickly, but one of the boy's tentacles whipped out and hit him in the chest. Catching himself on the ground, he managed to turn to his side before he hit the wall so that Nel would remain unharmed. "Well, well, if it isn't Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, everyone's favorite AWOL soldier!" Luppi cried delightfully. "What's a has-been like you doing challenging me?"

Grimmjow carefully loosened Nel's grip and helped her down to the ground. "Hide, kid," he told her, motioning towards a drawn curtain across the room. "This'll be over soon."

Nel took two steps towards the curtain, glancing back at him anxiously, but Grimmjow had gotten a bloodthirsty look about him, and his entire body was shivering with excitement. "A has-been, huh?" she heard him say as she scrambled for cover. "I may not be part of the Espada anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't still kick your ass."

"I'd love to see you try, Grimmy," Luppi cooed, taking up a fighting stance. "Let's go!"

…

Finding Rukia amidst thousands of soldiers was a daunting task. Orihime healed anyone who needed it along the way, asking if they had seen the Good Witch anywhere, but by the time she reached her destinations there was nothing but the remnants of Aizen's soldiers, blasted apart by magic.

But after ten exhausting minutes of running to and fro, she finally caught sight of Rukia kneeling by a water fountain, tending to an injury on Renji's arm. "Hey!"

The couple looked up as Orihime and Ulquiorra approached – the latter at a distance, neither worried nor rushed. "You two alright?" Rukia asked, apparently not having noticed the fact that Aizen's army wasn't attacking either of them.

"I'm fine, and Ulquiorra-san is, too." Orihime called forth her own power and helped speed Renji's healing. "Listen, I've got a plan. How much magic do you think you can spare?"

Rukia eased up once she saw that the red-haired lieutenant was going to be alright. "Enough, what with all the healing you've been doing in my stead. Why? What do you need?"

"An illusion." Orihime took a deep breath. "Aizen's soldiers aren't coming after me, and I noticed that they don't seem very bright, either. Do you think you could conjure up a spell that will make all of our men look like me?"

Rukia snorted with laughter at the thought. "Girl, you're a genius." She took up her wand and began scribbling magical symbols into the air as Renji stood up, poking his healed arm. "This is going to take a while, though. It's a tall order."

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye out for – behind you!"

Renji leaped in front of Rukia and knocked back the creature that had been about to attack her. But unfortunately, there were three or four others headed towards them, each one bigger than the one before it. Renji grinned and reached into his clothing, withdrawing a piece of paper with a magic circle drawn on it. "Yo Rukia, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to use this thing now."

"Sounds good to me!" Rukia said as she conducted her wand in rapid, fluid motions.

Renji placed the paper on the blade, which then started to glow so brightly that Orihime winced against the light. "_Howl, Zabimaru_!" he yelled, and the blade began to transform, taking on a longer, segmented shape. With that, he flexed his wrist and the sword snapped forward like a chain, slicing neatly into the surprised monsters before it snaked back to its master.

"Amazing!" Orihime cried excitedly just as Rukia lifted her wand into the air. With a burst of magic, the wand shot into the sky a beam that broke into thousands of rays of light, which then descended back onto the battlefield. Orihime blinked against the spots in her vision, then turned to Rukia. "Did it work – eek!" Standing in Rukia's clothing was another her, and a short distance away, a third Orihime wearing Renji's clothes was scrutinizing herself.

"I don't look any different," she murmured.

"You won't look different to yourself," the second Orihime stated, crossing her arms. "To everyone else, however, we appear as the Promised Child."

Orihime blinked twice and quickly turned to Ulquiorra, but was disappointed to find that he was still himself. "Darn it!" she whispered, to which he arched his eyebrow.

There was a sudden hush over the battlefield, followed by the bubble of a confused murmur struck up by Aizen's soldiers. The Promised Child was _everywhere_: sitting on the ground, bleeding; appearing just as bewildered as they did; clutching weapons once held by the Sixth Division and clad in armor that was far too big for her. The enemy grumbled and shifted uncomfortably, scratching their heads at the spectacle.

A city full of Promised Children with equally red hair, equally gray eyes, and equally threatening hair pins. Who was the real thing?

Finally, an Orihime dressed in Byakuya's clothing came forward, sword in hand. "What are you all standing around for?" she demanded of her fellow women before slapping a drawn magic symbol onto her blade. "_Scatter, Senbonzakura!"_ And with that, the mass of Promised Children launched themselves at Aizen's forces, which were too torn by their orders to strike back.

…

Grimmjow had just been thrown into the communication module by Luppi – it broke apart with a crackle of magic – when he noticed the silence from down below. Fearing that the Second Division's contribution hadn't been enough to stop a massacre, he dragged himself up to the window and peered down at the action. "Whoa! What the hell?"

"What is it?" Luppi asked, coming up next to him.

"Dude, are you seeing this?" Grimmjow pointed at the thousands of Orihime clones filling the streets of the Emerald City.

Luppi leaned out a little further. "Ooh! Talk about a fantasy come true, huh?" he grinned a bit lecherously. "Sworn enemies or not, I'd sure love to sink my tentacles into _her_. Three of her, if possible. Someone has to tend to my needs."

Grimmjow frowned at him. "Wait, you're straight?"

Luppi shrugged. "When it's convenient."

Kisuke poked his head out from behind the curtain. "Oi, Espada-san, I don't mean to interrupt, but aren't the two of you supposed to be fighting?"

Grimmjow and Luppi looked at each other. "Oh, right." The match then resumed as one white tentacle shot forward and nailed Grimmjow in the face, sending him flying into the opposite wall. He managed to land on his feet, though the pain traveling up and down his spine was enough to have him doubling over and gasping for breath. Damn it! As much as he hated to admit it, Luppi had gotten stronger. It was no wonder that he'd been chosen as his replacement.

Of course, Grimmjow still had an ace up his sleeve… literally. Reaching into it, he withdrew the paper that Yoruichi had given him, courtesy of the Good Witch Rukia. Yes, if he was going to beat a guy with ten arms, speed was the key element. "Let's see how well this thing works!" He withdrew his sword and placed the paper onto it. "_Grind, Pantera!_"

Luppi gasped as a swirl of magic filled the room. "Hey, no fair! You're only supposed to be able to use that with Lord Aizen's arts!" he cried as Grimmjow's body began to change shape.

Kisuke peered out from the curtain again. "Umm, Luppi-san, who do you think taught Aizen how to do all that? And who do you think taught the sorcerer that taught the Good Witch of the North?"

"Shut up! I don't need your input!" Luppi snapped at him, only to stiffen when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You might want to keep your eyes on your opponent," Grimmjow snarled with a grin, his hair now longer, his uniform having joined his body to form a chalky white armor, and his ears resembling a feline's. Grabbing a tentacle in each hand, he ripped the appendages out of Luppi's back, laughing maniacally as the Espada let out a pained cry and leapt away from him.

"D-Damn it! You'll pay for that!" Luppi spat, wobbling as the remaining six tentacles writhed in agony.

Grimmjow threw the limp limbs aside and licked the blood off of his newly formed claws. "Oh yeah? Let's see if you can make good on that threat."

Across the room, Kisuke and Nel took turns observing the battle and relaying information to each other. "Oh, if only I had my wand! He's still got it in his uniform, doesn't he?" Kisuke sighed, burying his face into his hands. "Useless! I'm the most useless person on the planet! Can't do a thing without my cane, can't keep a woman by my side, can't tie shoelaces so I wear sandals all the time…"

Nel glared at him. "You know, I don't think you're as stupid as you let on."

Kisuke lifted his head, all smiles. "No, I'm not. It's just nice to complain every once in a while." He patted her hair and his expression suddenly became one of interest. "Hmm?" Nel gazed up at him curiously. "Munchkin, what did you say your name was?"

She would have answered had a loud explosion not drawn their attention back into the viewing chamber, where a bloodied Luppi was struggling to hold himself upright and letting curses fly off of his tongue in rapid succession. "I won't lose to the likes of you!" he yelled, sending spit and blood in all directions. "I – hold on. That scar across your chest."

Grimmjow glanced down at the jagged scar visible above his uniform. "What, this? I got it in a battle against some Oz forces a few months ago."

"Ah, yeah, when you and your captain disappeared for like a week, then you turned up injured and suffered through rehabilitation until you turned on Lord Aizen." Luppi pouted. "I almost got promoted while your ass was lying in bed."

"Hey!" Nel snapped at them, "Are you two stupid or something? Finish the fight!"

Luppi stared at her for a moment. "Munchkin… the one who came into the room with…" A deranged smile turned up the corners of his mouth as one remaining tentacle snaked out and grabbed Nel, hoisting her up into the air. "Hey Grimmy! You must be pretty attached to this kid if you went to the trouble of telling her to hide, huh?" he laughed as the girl squealed and struggled to escape.

"Put her down!" Grimmjow barked, panic evident on his face. "This is supposed to be a fair fight!"

"_Fair_?" Luppi clutched at his side in hysterics. "You think Lord Aizen plays _fair_? Say, what do you think I'm even _here _for, huh? Can you sense Ulquiorra-sama coming up the stairs, presumably with the _real _Promised Child in tow? Do you have any idea what my orders are?"

"Grimmjow!" Nel cried, her tear-filled eyes wide with fear, further agitating him.

"The moment Ulquiorra-sama walks through that door, I'm to deliver a message to him from Lord Aizen," Luppi shook Nel in annoyance, hoping that rattling her skull would get her to shut up, "and do you know what that message is?" He lowered his voice with a wicked smile. "_Bring the Promised Child to me_."

Nel stopped squirming, having heard what was said. She couldn't let Luppi deliver that message, because knowing Ulquiorra, he would probably obey the order in a heartbeat. And so, summoning up her courage, she sunk her teeth into the tentacle wrapped around her body.

"Ow!" Luppi practically shrieked, turning an enraged look on the munchkin. "Miserable brat! I'll cero you into oblivion!"

Grimmjow was about to step in to stop him, but he thought better of it. "Oh, no, a cero," he said in a mock-dramatic tone. "Please don't. She's just a child."

Of course his unenthusiastic plea went ignored by the short-tempered Luppi, who was already gathering the energy to fire at Nel. It was so bright, so large that he completely missed the smirk on the girl's face before he launched the cero at her, full speed, laughing triumphantly. He whirled back on Grimmjow. "What now, Grimmy? You gonna cry because I killed your precious little play thing?"

Grimmjow looked up from examining his claws. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." He lifted his hands to his face in 'anguish.' "Boo-hoo."

Luppi wanted to question his lack of pity, but he was easily distracted and suddenly took notice of the fact that there had been no dramatic explosion following his cero. He held a finger up to silence Grimmjow in case he was fixing to speak, then glanced down at where Nel's splattered remains should have been. Instead, he found himself staring at a munchkin with puffed cheeks and a swollen chest. "What the fu-!"

Nel opened her mouth and a blinding light filled the entire viewing chamber. The ensuing explosion blew out the wall behind Luppi, catching the attention of the fighting armies below as the doubled cero and a healthy amount of debris were sent into the air. Inside the Emerald Castle, Orihime cried out and grabbed onto a stair railing as the building shook with the force of the attack. "Oh no! Grimmjow-san! Nel-chan!" she screamed as she broke out into a full run, Ulquiorra following behind her at a leisurely pace.

Kisuke peered cautiously out from the curtain. "My castle!" he wailed when his eyes landed upon the gaping hole.

Nel blinked twice, then threw her arms into the air victoriously. "Woo!" she managed to cheer before falling backwards, unconscious.

Grimmjow swore, the magic fading and his body returning to normal as he ran across the ruined space to her. Picking Nel up carefully, he sat her against the wall, tapping her cheek softly. "Hey. You alright?" He got no reply other than a soft and dizzy-sounding groan. "Wake up, you hag-looking brat!"

"W-Wait… just a damn second…"

Grimmjow looked over his shoulder. There was no way! But sure enough, Luppi's arm appeared, slung over the hole in the wall, followed by his head, upper body, and one tentacle. His left leg seemed to be out of commission, as he leaned heavily on his right once he was able to stand. "You're a resilient bastard, aren't you?" Grimmjow muttered.

"_Nel-chan! Grimmjow-san!_" Orihime came running into the room, stopping when she saw the chaotic scene, and took notice of the fact that the Espada general was still alive. Ulquiorra walked in a few seconds later.

Luppi wheezed happily. "M-Mission…! The mission!" he cried, ignoring everyone but the black-haired man in a uniform matching his. "Ulquiorra-sama, Lord Aizen has an order for you!"

_Shit!_ Grimmjow thought, reluctantly leaving Nel behind.

"Does he now?" Ulquiorra's voice held as much interest as he could muster.

"Yes!" Luppi pointed at Orihime, who flinched away from him as if he were right in front of her. "The girl… bring the girl to him, he said. Take the Promised Child to his stronghold! Carry out the second part of the plan!"

Kisuke watched the scene unfold from behind the curtain.

Nel began to stir.

Grimmjow closed in on Luppi.

Orihime caught Ulquiorra's gaze, her expression a mixture of horror, sorrow and anxiety.

Luppi bared his teeth in anticipation.

Ulquiorra shifted his attention from the Promised Child to his ally. "I'm sorry," he stated coldly, "I do not know what you're talking about."

Grimmjow's hand went through Luppi's back and broke out of his chest. The boy's last tentacle gave a wild spasm, his smile fading, eyes flying wide as he stared into the cruel depth's of Ulquiorra's green and uttered a single, dying word:

"T…traitor…"

He was dead before he hit the ground.

Satisfied with his lifeless opponent, Grimmjow withdrew his arm and cast the body aside, cringing in disgust. Immediately he was tackled by Nel, who threw her arms around his neck and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. "You saved me!" she declared gleefully, rubbing her face against his. "My hero!"

"H-Hey! Get off of me!" Grimmjow snapped, attempting to push her affection away with his clean hand.

Kisuke emerged dancing from behind the curtain, letting out a cheer. "Splendid! Marvelous! What a display of power! My thanks to all of you for saving me – ah, wait, but we aren't out of the woods just yet!" He quickly ran across the room, passing Ulquiorra and Orihime on the way and not failing to notice the way that they were gazing at each other. His eyebrow quirked, though he kept up his bouncy demeanor as he extracted his cane from Luppi's corpse. "Now for the rest of that pesky army!" he circled the cane above his head twice and a wave of magical energy swept over the entire castle, making its way into the streets of the Emerald City.

Aizen's army, having still been confused over whether or not to attack the multitude of Orihimes, attempted to flee the spell but ended up caught in the pulse. They let out horrible shrieks as their bodies turned to dust, leaving behind harmless, stone masks. The conflicting energies also undid Rukia's spell, the illusion dropping to reveal the Sixth and Second Divisions in their rightful forms.

A roar of victory filled the Emerald City, reaching Orihime from the top of the castle. But she could hardly register it, her heart racing as she continued to stare at Ulquiorra, who stared back. He'd disregarded Aizen's orders. He'd allowed a fellow Espada to be killed by his master's enemies. He had made the choice to let her go free. "Ulquiorra-san…"

A loud yawn came from Urahara, who casually strolled over to this throne and sat down, conjuring for himself a glass of wine. "Much better!" He motioned for the two odd couples to approach. "So sorry to bother you all. Really, the warlock has no sense of timing when it comes to these things. No offense," Kisuke nodded at Ulquiorra, "as I'm sure you, at the least, are a very punctual man." Setting the glass of wine onto the armrest, he folded his hands together and smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself properly," he began in a grand tone of voice. "My name is Kisuke Urahara, more commonly known as the Great Wizard of Oz. What sort of wish can I grant for you all today?"

**To Be Continued**


	19. Make a Wish

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Bleach! On with the show!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Make a Wish**

It was becoming apparent to Orihime that throwing huge parties to celebrate victories was an Oz custom. Almost immediately after the soldiers of the Sixth and Second Divisions had realized that they'd won, cries went up around the ranks for festivities to begin, and the entire city was promptly decorated by the Good Witch Rukia.

Kisuke would have helped, but once he had gotten through his introduction to the rescuing party of four, he had fainted from hunger, having been starved by Luppi for the last few days. Two of his young apprentices – mere children, by the looks of it – rushed in with plates of food, waving different items under his nose to see if they could rouse him. In the mean time, Yoruichi had reached the viewing chamber, admiring the hole in the wall briefly before turning to Orihime, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Nel. "What happened to _him_?"

"He passed out 'cause he was hungry," Nel informed her from her perch on Grimmjow's knee. Despite his continued protests, she had refused to let go of him, so he had settled for glowering at nothing in particular.

"Ah," Yoruichi walked over to the children and moved them gently out of the way. Then she lifted her leg and kicked the Great Wizard square in the ribs. "_Wake up_!" she barked at him, kicking him again when he didn't immediately lift his hands to protect himself. The third time, though, he hooked his cane around her ankle, effectively stopping her.

"Nice to see you too, Yoruichi-san!" He nuzzled her calf happily. "I was as impressed as ever by your outstanding military tactics! You and General Kuchiki make quite a team," he added, to which she blushed and looked away. His eyes darkened, then, though his smile remained fixed in place.

While the general moved to stand at the right of his throne, her expression sulky, Kisuke fixed his attention back on the rest of the party. "My, what an interesting conglomeration of travelers we have here! Let's see if I've got this straight." He pointed his cane at Orihime. "The Promised Child, Orihime Inoue, from the country of Japan on the planet Earth. I _knew _you would be a woman! Didn't I tell you, Yoruichi-san? I felt it in my loins."

"You sure did," Yoruichi answered flatly.

Kisuke's cane pointed at Ulquiorra. "Number Four in Aizen-chan's private army, the Espada: Ulquiorra Cifer." He smirked. "Though I would guess, by the news that your superiors are dead and the rather recent – and by recent I mean an hour ago – happenings, that you're either headed for a nice promotion or an embarrassing strip of rank."

Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. "I would prefer not to think about it."

"Fair enough!" The Wizard pointed at Grimmjow. "Former Number Six in Aizen-chan's yada yada: Grimmjow Jaegerjaques." He grinned. "You're looking rather alive for a brainless traitor."

"_Brainless_?" Grimmjow snapped, and Nel let out a snide giggle.

"And you," Kisuke pointed at the girl, "are the munchkin Nel. Short, adorable, no recollection of your past." She nodded once and he clapped his hands together, satisfied. "Well! Tell me, young ones – I say this because I'm older than I look, just like Yoruichi-san… _wait don't hurt me! _– err… what can I do for you all?"

Ulquiorra took a step away from the others, clearly having no wishes to make. When no one else ventured to speak, Nel hopped down from Grimmjow's knee and ran over to Kisuke, stopping in front of him. "Mr. Wizard, could you give me courage?" she asked, her eyes wide and hopeful. "I want to stop being scared when I go into battle so I can be more useful!"

Urahara stooped over and picked her up, turning her one way, and then the other, as if he were searching for something. "But little Nel, what courage can I give you when you already have so much?" he asked honestly, putting her down again. "Being scared when you go into battle is a perfectly natural feeling. It has nothing to do with courage, because even the bravest warrior in the world will feel his heart racing when he steps into the presence of his enemies." He poked her chest with the end of his cane. "What's important, my dear, is that you did not run away. You courageously faced Luppi Antenor and helped save my life, which is something that a coward would not have been able to do."

Nel smiled brightly, showing off her teeth. "I guess."

"Don't guess! Be certain!" Kisuke used his cane to turn her around and push her in Grimmjow's direction. "Off with you and your tremendous heart! Who's next?" He looked at the blue-haired ex-Espada and grinned. "In need of a brain, are you?"

"I have a brain, and it works perfectly fine, thank you very much!" Grimmjow snapped irritably. He crossed his arms and walked forward, leaving behind a confused Nel. "I do, however, have a wish to make. I've _had_ a wish to make, for a while now." His voice lowered as he approached the Wizard, who wore a pleasantly oblivious smile. "I mean, I guess you can say I am wishing for a brain."

"Common sense, perhaps?"

"Enough with the commentary, or I won't wish for anything!" Grimmjow cried and Kisuke held up his hands defensively. "God, no wonder you drove that idiot Luppi nuts!"

The Wizard sunk further back into his throne. "S-So mean! Why must I associate myself with mean people?"

Grimmjow looked like he had half a mind to hit him, but with two deep breaths he was able to calm his temper, his fists remaining at his sides. "Just shut up and listen," he growled, keeping his back turned to the others, though he could sense them watching him. "The thing that I want to wish for," he lifted his gaze to the roof, sighing anxiously. Then he looked at Nel, who stood watching him curiously. "I wish for Nelliel's head injury to be healed."

Kisuke's smile widened as he twisted his cane in his hand. "You're the boss." He pointed the flat end of the wand in Nel's direction and a tiny beam of magic flew out from it, hitting the munchkin square in the forehead.

Nel gasped, her hands immediately flying up to tangle in her hair. "It hurts!" she cried, squeezing her eyes shut as she fell to her knees. Orihime nearly abandoned her place beside Ulquiorra to comfort her, but then something else occurred: Nel's body began to change shape; limbs elongating, curves filling out, hair lengthening until it fell down her back in wild waves. Her short dress wrapped around her body, becoming a crisp white uniform that matched Ulquiorra's and Grimmjow's, and a long sword appeared strapped to her waist. She gasped again, her palms slapping the floor as she braced against the pain.

Finally the magic subsided, leaving a shocked Orihime and Yoruichi staring at the green-haired woman on the ground. Ulquiorra picked at a loose thread on his sleeve, annoyed at its condition. Grimmjow also looked upon Nel, his expression one of deep remorse.

Nel lifted her head slowly, her eyes meeting his through a curtain of hair. She climbed onto unsteady feet and tottered forward, her arms outstretched. "Grimmjow…" Tears were quickly filling her eyes, sliding down her cheeks.

Grimmjow stepped away from Kisuke, but seemed unsure of himself as the woman drew closer. "Nel…" He reached out for her, his hands cupping her face with gentleness that Orihime hadn't known the man to be capable of. "I'm so sorry." He bowed his head in shame, resting it on her hair. "I panicked. When you said all of that to me, I-I didn't… you were one of Aizen's best soldiers. I didn't want you risking your reputation and rank just because you'd…"

Nel lifted her hands to rest above his own, hardly able to speak through her tears. "But I didn't care about any of that..," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," Grimmjow said again, looking down at her. "I didn't think you would run, didn't think Nnoitra would go after you when you were alone. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"But y-you came looking for me," Nel sobbed. "You left the Espada, risked your life for me. You took care of me, even though it was troublesome." She gazed up at him lovingly. "You have no reason to apologize. And… and now that neither of us is expected to return to Lord Aizen's side…"

Grimmjow pushed her hair back from her face. "You read my mind," he grinned before engaging her in a very passionate kiss, which caused Orihime's already widened eyes to bulge.

"Wait a minute," she pointed at the couple locked in their embrace, "what just happened?"

Ulquiorra dropped his arm to the side, figuring that he'd deal with the loose thread later. "Your munchkin Nel is a former member of the Espada," he replied simply. "Number Three in command, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. She disappeared a few days before you arrived in Oz."

"_She outranks you_?" Orihime cried. "You knew all of this, and you didn't say anything?"

"You never asked."

"Whoa, okay kiddies! Let's all calm down," Kisuke used magic to separate Grimmjow and Nel. "I know you're excited to see each other but my viewing chamber is rated PG-13, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Grimmjow snorted and ran a hand through his hair, his face flushed with embarrassment. Nel let out a shy giggle, then turned to Orihime, whose cheeks were puffed out in annoyance directed at the nonchalant Ulquiorra. "Orihime," she approached her and took both of her hands, leaving the girl flabbergasted at the fact that the munchkin-turned-Espada was taller than her, "thank you so much for taking me with you on this journey. If not for you, I might never have regained this form, and for that I will gladly lend my strength to Oz's forces."

"I-I'm happy that your memories are back," Orihime said uneasily, then leaned in a bit closer and lowered her voice, "though you're definitely going to explain the you-and-Grimmjow thing to Yoruichi and I later."

Nel's cheeks colored prettily. "Yeah, sure!" She looked at Ulquiorra. "Thank you for not saying anything about this to Lord Aizen."

"It was none of my business," he replied coolly.

Yoruichi cleared her throat, cutting into the conversation to give Orihime a meaningful smile. "Don't you have a wish to make as well?"

"That's right," Kisuke conjured a fan and snapped it open, holding it up to his face. "Didn't the Promised Child want to return home, to escape the war?

Here Orihime felt her heart sink. Yes, she had wanted to go home. She knew that she had to, as Sora was probably well into the five stages of grief over her supposed death by now. She couldn't let him keep thinking the worst. It wasn't fair to him. "I…"

Ulquiorra watched her struggle to get her thoughts together, knowing that the best course of action for her would be to leave. He had, after all, spared her life – though why he had, he wasn't sure. He'd defied his very nature, spat in the face of his creator for this fumbling girl. _Why_? It made no sense. Nothing ever made sense around her. She had to leave, if only so that he could find peace of mind again.

But if she left, this world would fall apart. Her friends would die at the hands of his master. According to her logic – and the fact that he was considering her logic to begin with disturbed him – staying in Oz to fight would make the most sense, even though there was a chance that she would be throwing her own life away, after he'd gone through the unnecessary trouble of saving it.

Really, the woman knew her place already. He was the one who was confused. He was the odd one out. Everyone in that room had hearts that directed their actions, which gave them the measure of compassion that it took to take care of each other. He had a hole in his chest, a war in his brain, and an understanding that no matter what side he joined in that war, he would never be like them. His actions were meaningless. In defying his orders, he had made his own existence meaningless.

He was walking along a fine line; on one side stood the person who had created him, the one who was supposed to know him better than anyone; and on the other side was a girl who had caused him to think things, to act in ways that he had been told he was incapable of. Who, then, could explain to him the shortness of breath that he felt at the thought of the woman leaving?

All eyes in the room were on Orihime, the hope of her staying eclipsed by their desire for her to make whatever decision her heart told her was right – all, that is, except for Ulquiorra, who suddenly walked past her, headed towards the door. Orihime's heart lurched in his direction. "Wizard-san," she said to Kisuke, though her eyes remained on the back of her retreating escort, "I'm quite unsure of what to wish for. I'd like to wait." It must have been her imagination, but she thought she noticed Ulquiorra's pace slow. "I want to fight alongside Oz," she continued, her resolve steeling itself. "I'm sorry, Ulquiorra-san, but your master was right not to trust me. He doesn't have to spare me anymore kindness."

Ulquiorra stopped, hesitated, then turned around. Now he was the center of attention, and he could sense that Yoruichi, Grimmjow and Nel were ready to intervene in case he decided to change his mind about letting her live. He placed his hand on his sword, ignoring the way they all tensed, and removed the weapon from its strap at his waist, throwing it to Grimmjow. "Before anyone asks," he said quietly, then left the room.

Orihime breathed a small sigh of relief, but she couldn't help but feel like it wasn't over yet. Something was troubling Ulquiorra, and she was going to find out what.

…

Aizen sat upon his icy throne, waiting. He drummed his fingers patiently against the armrest, hearing Momo sneeze somewhere behind him, and gazed out at the landscape of the world that would soon be his. Hmm. What was taking Ulquiorra so long? Whether Luppi was defeated or not didn't matter so long as Ulquiorra returned with the Promised Child, preferably soon.

An hour passed. Two hours passed. Three hours passed, and the sun was beginning to dip towards setting on the Emerald City when the warlock reached a sudden and irritating epiphany:

Ulquiorra wasn't coming back.

He was alive, that much was certain, but he was acting on his own? Impossible. Aizen sat and pondered this a moment longer, then stood from his throne and glanced at Momo, who sat shivering and chained in the corner of the room. "My dearest Momo," he said to her gently, "I'm afraid that I must be going somewhere. I know how much you hate it when I leave, but I promise that I will return as soon as I can."

Momo _did _hate when Aizen left the fortress, if only because he locked her in the dungeon to make sure that she wouldn't try to escape while he was gone. The door of the viewing chamber swung open, revealing sorcerer Gin Ichimaru, the warlock's perpetually smiling assistant. "You rang?"

"Ah, Gin. I have some business to attend to out on the playing field. Would you mind escorting my beloved wife to her quarters?"

"Sure thing, my lord," he said as he leaned down and hoisted Momo up by the arm, proceeding to drag the whimpering woman away. Aizen watched them go, then drew a magic symbol in the air and relaxed as the room around him began to change, morphing into another chamber hidden elsewhere in the fortress. There were no windows; brick walls coated in ice and grime were illuminated by the round, glowing jewel in the center of the room.

"Soon," Aizen murmured to the hougyoku, "we will test the extent of your power."

Meanwhile, several floors below the Espada chambers, Gin had let go of Momo's arm and was walking her to the dungeon. "I'm terribly sorry about all this," he frowned as he extracted his wand and waved open one of the cell doors. Once the woman had walked inside, he conjured for her a thick blanket and some warm tea. "For your cold," he added.

"Thank you Gin," Momo whispered, offering him a thin smile. The sorcerer couldn't help but notice that she had lost a lot of weight lately, her countenance pale, dark circles beneath her eyes. "I've been entertaining these horrible notions that General Hitsugaya won't get to me in time… that I'll simply waste away in this cell before I can be saved." Her voice wavered and she quickly reached for the tea, taking a long sip.

"Don't give up just yet, Hinamori-san. If it comes to it, I'll blow my cover and get you out of here myself," Gin promised before handing her a piece of paper with a symbol drawn onto it. "If you need anything at all, dissolve that into the tea."

Momo sniffled and took the paper, drawing the blanket tighter around her body as Gin reluctantly closed the cell door. "You're far too kind, you know."

He grinned. "Hey, your general's been good to my lady. I won't let his efforts be in vain."

…

The grand festival to celebrate the Emerald City victory was scheduled to take place the next day. Kisuke promised that it would be loud, long, and a slap in the face to the doubtlessly brooding warlock, whose fortress reportedly had a perfect view of the glistening metropolis. Yoruichi tried to remind him that the war wasn't over yet, and they should be cautious about their actions, but he wouldn't hear of it.

That night, Orihime was placed in a grand suite with the general and Nel, who had traded her Espada uniform for a number of more appropriate, Oz-oriented outfits. The room was furnished with three four-poster beds, a snug fireplace in the corner surrounded by three armchairs, and a window that overlooked the courtyard garden behind the Emerald Castle. Sitting in front of the fire sipping hot chocolate with Yoruichi and Nel, Orihime was reminded of the sleepovers she'd had at her friends' houses back home, only with more of a fairy tale flavor.

"I suppose we should have to wait until Aizen makes his move," Yoruichi was saying, stirring the marshmallows in her drink. "He's lost a huge chunk of his army, but regardless, we aren't sure what the warlock is capable of."

Nel lowered her head. "I wish I could help more. Lord Aizen had a habit of being unpredictable, so his plans have certainly changed in the weeks since I have been gone."

"Speaking of which," Orihime came back into the conversation, setting her mug down next to her, "you promised to tell us about you and Grimmjow."

"Oh! Right," the woman's cheeks flamed. She leaned back on her palms and turned her gaze to the ceiling. "I guess it started when he was assigned as my lieutenant for a certain battle against Oz forces. It was going well – or badly, I should say, as I am on your side now – until he noticed that I was about to be cut down and threw himself in front of me. That's how he got that scar on his chest, you see." Her face grew even redder. "Anyway, he was gravely injured, so I sought out a safe place away from the skirmish to hide. You know the cave that he found for us to stay in on our way to Permafrost?"

"Oh my," Yoruichi grinned deviously.

Nel glared at her, pouting indignantly. "A-Anyway, I treated his wounds there, with, uh…" she stammered, poking her fingers together, "with, uh…"

Orihime and Yoruichi leaned closer.

"My saliva."

"Oh my!" Yoruichi cried, slapping her on the back. "Nice!"

"Shut up!" Nel squealed.

"I think I'm too young to be hearing this!" Orihime added.

"It gets worse," Nel muttered, absently rubbing at a suspicious mark on her shoulder. "All I'll say is that one thing led to another." She buried her face in her hands. "Moving on! Umm, right. I managed to heal his wounds, but he was still in need of recovery time, so we went on, business as usual. Only then we couldn't stay away from each other, and I'd end up sneaking over to his quarters… err, but then Ulquiorra-san caught me one night. I thought he would tell Lord Aizen for sure."

"It was a bad thing for you and Grimmjow-san to be seeing each other?"

Nel nodded. "I was a higher rank than him, meaning that I was privy to more information than the lower Espada. Lord Aizen kept us mostly separated to avoid any accidental sharing of secrets." She pulled her legs up to her chest. "Unfortunately, it was no good. I couldn't keep myself from going to see him, and Grimmjow became worried that Lord Aizen would discover us, so when I told him that I loved him, he rejected me."

Orihime cringed, remembering the sting of her own rejection.

"I was upset, so I left the fortress to go clear my head. But Nnoitra, who was one rank above Grimmjow and had always held resentment towards me for being stronger than him, decided that he would come after me when I was alone. The last thing I remember before waking up as a munchkin was seeing his blade coming down towards me, and that awful pain." Nel lifted a hand to her forehead. "Without my memories, I didn't understand why he was chasing me. I just ran and ran until I came to that village, and that's when you appeared, Orihime."

"So that explains why Grimmjow-san let us go so easily!" Orihime cried, remembering their first encounter with the blue-haired man.

"And why he was always so patient with you," Yoruichi added, tossing back the rest of her hot chocolate.

Nel leaned back against the armchair behind her and sighed happily. "Yes. When this war is resolved, our problems will finally be over."

_When the war is resolved_. Orihime stared at the dancing fire, the afterimages of light burning into her retinas. What would happen to Ulquiorra when it was all said and done? Would he be taken prisoner by Oz for aiding the enemy? Would he be forced to run away and live out the rest of his life as a fugitive? He may have willingly submitted himself to them, but he still hadn't explicitly stated that he was no longer working for Aizen.

"What's wrong, Orihime? You look sad," Nel said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"She's probably thinking about Ulquiorra," Yoruichi smiled knowingly.

"_Eh_?"

"Don't try to hide it, Hime. There's something going on between the two of you. I mean, come on, he ignored orders from Aizen to keep you safe," she continued, grinning when the girl's face flushed. "That's like a step away from asking for your hand in marriage."

Orihime shook her head rapidly. "No! It's not… it isn't like that." And yet she couldn't help but think of the expression on his face when he'd caught her after she'd fallen from that cliff, and how he had avoided directly answering her question about his orders, and how just a few hours ago he had given up his weapon before having to be asked. "He can't be doing all of this for me."

"Well, he certainly isn't doing it for Grimmjow," Yoruichi commented, causing Nel to spit her hot chocolate back into her mug.

Orihime stared glumly at the fire. "He seemed a bit upset today. I wanted to ask him what was wrong."

"Get him alone during the festival tomorrow, then," Nel suggested, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. "We'll keep everyone else out of your way."

"Heh… thanks." Orihime finished off her hot chocolate and put the mug down. She was admittedly nervous about asking Ulquiorra outright, but she had to know. In the mean time, she would question the reason for the pain in her heart when he'd walked away from her earlier. There was this uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, an eerie sense of déjà vu, as if she would be watching him walk away again. He'd always had a habit of losing her in a crowd, of vanishing without a trace, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

**To Be Continued**


	20. The Wrong Man

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the awesomeness that is Bleach, or the Wizard of Oz, or anything else!

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**The Wrong Man**

Orihime's day began with an introduction, via communication module, of herself as the savior of Oz by The Great Wizard. She hadn't been expecting it when she'd been called into the throne room, only to find him in the midst of a broadcast to viewing screens across the entire world. And of course, it had been embarrassing as all hell, but after much stammering she had managed to compose a decent hello to whoever might be watching. Unknown to her, in cities all over Oz, audiences had broken out into wild cheers at the sight of her. The end of the war was finally on the horizon.

Kisuke then went on to declare it a day of festivities the world wide – though he didn't exactly have the authority to do so – and urged everyone to make merry. It was a glorious occasion, not one that they would get to celebrate often, if ever again.

Orihime was then dragged out of the viewing chamber by Yoruichi and Nel, who dolled her up in a beautiful, flower-printed summer dress and sandals, so that she could fully enjoy the deliciously warm weather that had settled over the city for the festival. When they joined up with everyone else, the party was already in full swing.

"I heard they have funnel cake! _Funnel cake! _Is it true?" Rukia cried, squeezing Renji's arm. She had also gone for a casual dress, but she still wore her witch's cloak above it, in case any drunken soldiers would try to make a pass at her. "Oh, please tell me it's true!"

"I didn't know you had funnel cake in Oz," Orihime blinked.

Yoruichi laughed. "Kisuke's been to Earth a few times, and he's always sure to bring back things that he likes. Man, you should have been here for the Popcorn Craze. People were throwing away their life's savings for bags of the stuff."

Orihime grinned at the thought of it: Oz's citizens pushing each other at stores, waving money in the air, clamoring for popcorn. She didn't blame them at all; usually when she got her hand on some, she couldn't stop eating it until her hand was groping along the bottom of an empty bag.

The group arrived at the opening foyer of the Emerald Castle, where Byakuya had been waiting, dressed in his most decorated military uniform. Orihime looked around, hoping to catch sight of Ulquiorra. She hadn't seen him since the day before, when he'd left the throne room after giving up his sword, and it was rather uncommon for him to remain hidden for so long. She'd at least expected to find him lurking in the shadows, keeping a watchful eye on her. "For goodness' sake, big brother! Don't you _ever _wear normal clothes?" Rukia's complaint cut through her thoughts.

Byakuya gave her a bored look. "We may be celebrating, but we are still at war." He noted the wand strapped to her arm. "And you have no right to talk, carrying that thing around."

Rukia pouted stubbornly. "This is different. A magician never leaves their wand behind!"

"I am certain that it is not different in the slightest."

"Now, now. Let's not bicker." Yoruichi went ahead of them and two armored palace guards bowed at the waist before pulling open the doors. "We're supposed to be having fun!" she declared, and the sun burst into the room, revealing a city full of celebrating soldiers who abandoned their festivities to cheer for the approaching group.

Nel squealed and waved furiously, then grabbed Orihime's arm and made her wave as well. "Come on, don't look so down!" she whispered to the slightly sullen girl. "Ulquiorra is around here somewhere. Hasn't left the city all night; Grimmjow and I can sense him."

That's right. She'd forgotten that Aizen's Espada had that strange ability to find each other. Orihime made her way through the crowd, shaking hands and receiving several claps on the back. At least they weren't asking for autographs. Her gaze wandered to the snow-covered mountain range in the distance, to the peak hidden by clouds where the warlock's fortress sat. What was Aizen doing at that moment? Was he angry that they were celebrating his loss? Somehow, she couldn't imagine him getting mad about anything. The memory of his eerie smile caused a shiver to go down on her spine. Well, she could _hope_ that he didn't get mad about anything.

…

"_I see that you're all enjoying yourselves_." General Toshiro Hitsugaya, wrapped in a heavy winter coat, glared at Kisuke through the communication module. "_Don't you think that you're attracting a little too much attention? We can see your fireworks from all the way up here, and it's broad daylight._"

Kisuke sat on his throne-like chair, elbows on either arm rest, his fingers intertwined in front of him. "That's why you're keeping surveillance, isn't it?" he replied, staring out at the lively city through the window in his viewing chamber, the wall having been repaired the night before. "And considering the fact that you haven't set off any alarms…"

The general made a face. "We did see something suspicious yesterday: the warlock's Tenth Espada, Yammy Riyalgo, was apparently taking a stroll down the mountain. Obviously he acknowledged us because he waved to our guards, but he made no move to attack, and his intentions seemed innocent enough. We couldn't exactly bring him in for interrogation, this being the warlock's turn and all."

Kisuke nodded, frowning at the ridiculous war laws. They couldn't do anything about Yammy, no matter how paranoid they were, or Aizen would be entitled to throw niceties out the window and turn his entire force on the Emerald City. It was a risk that they couldn't afford, _especially _not today, with half of the Sixth Division already intoxicated and half of the Second Division wondering if they were allowed to get hammered, now that General Yoruichi was back in Oz.

"_General Hitsugaya!_" Just then, the buxom blond lieutenant of the white-haired general came running into view, completely out of breath. Kisuke would have been entertained by the sight of that large chest of hers bouncing, but he could tell by the look on her face that this was no time to be lecherous. Something was wrong. The general was on his feet instantly.

"_What is it, Matsumoto?_"

"_T-The… the warlock,"_ she panted, waving her arms in frustration. "_The warlock Aizen has left his stronghold!_"

General Hitsugaya's eyes widened. "_How do you know_?"

"_There's no time to explain! We aren't sure what direction he's gone in, but he left early this morning!_"

Kisuke unfolded his hands. "Listen to her, General Hitsugaya. Her information source is a reliable one. I trained him myself." Though why the silver-haired boy, now a man, had volunteered to carry out such an obvious suicide mission had always mystified the wise wizard. "I don't want to frighten everyone, but I'll put the city's guards on high alert. Don't overlook this in the slightest. And please, _please _take care of yourselves."

Both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto saluted before the screen went black. Kisuke took up his wand and waved it once. The window that faced the city below changed locations, now looking out upon the mountain range to their left. He abandoned his chair and approached it, his heart heavy, scanning the forest between for any hint of magical energy. "What are you planning, Aizen?"

…

"Yo, Orihime!" Renji motioned for her to come closer. "Check this out!"

The girl in question walked up to him, a bundle of cotton candy in hand. "What's up?" she asked, unwittingly stepping on a piece of fabric on the ground. When she looked down at it, a group of soldiers who had been waiting for her to walk into their snare stood upright, snapping the sides of the blanket outward. Orihime screamed in surprise as she fell back, now hovering a foot or two above the air.

"Ready guys?" Rukia cried cheerfully. "One!"

"One?" Orihime echoed in bewilderment

"Two!"

"Oh no."

"Three!"

She screamed again as the soldiers, using the blanket, catapulted her into the air, cotton candy and all. Falling back onto the fabric, she laughed breathlessly as Rukia counted them off a second time, and Orihime went sailing above the crowds. Okay, so she had to admit that she was having fun. The people of Oz had a very random sense of humor, which led to her getting sucked into an interesting assortment of games. One of them had involved combat on roller skates, another had been a race through the city's shopping district – she'd come in third place, and still another had involved seeing how long she could hold a very spicy pepper-looking vegetable in her mouth. Her tongue was still burning, but she hadn't been able to resist the cotton candy when she walked past it.

Orihime had also been keeping an eye out for her expressionless escort, but so far she had only caught glimpses of everybody else. Nel had been arm-wrestling three opponents at once, with Grimmjow cheering on the hapless soldiers. Rukia and Renji had been putting on a magic show for an admiring audience and were now convincing Oz citizens to harass Orihime for fun, apparently. Hell, she'd even witnessed Byakuya handing Yoruichi a flower before he nonchalantly passed her by, pretending he'd done nothing.

So where was Ulquiorra? She was allowed down from the blanket and, totally winded, scolded the magician and lieutenant before continuing her search, devouring the cotton candy in her anxiety. They'd been partying all day, and he was nowhere to be found. For some reason, she hadn't failed to notice, the security posted at the perimeter of the city had increased, and she was beginning to consider going back to the castle to ask the Great Wizard what was going on. Who knew? Perhaps she would find Ulquiorra there.

Unfortunately, she had wandered far into the city, so it took her quite a while to make it back to the vicinity of the Emerald Castle. That was when she saw a group of musicians standing off in the distance, and a large crowd was gathering around a cleared space that appeared to have been made into an impromptu dance floor. Nel and Grimmjow were standing at the edge of the excitement and flagged her down.

"Where have you been, Hime?" the green-haired woman asked, bringing her closer. "The dance is about to begin!" She pointed to the horizon. "See? As soon as it darkens a little more, the musicians are going to start."

Orihime _did _like dancing. "Sounds like fun!" she said, then remembered what she'd been told that morning. "Hey, do you two know where Ulquiorra-san is? I haven't seen him anywhere."

Grimmjow snorted. "Hasn't moved from the castle. He's probably been sulking in there all day because his precious master is losing the war – oww!" he finished as Nel elbowed him the ribs. "What was that for?" he growled.

"He might have been talking to the Great Wizard," Nel suggested as a burst of music struck up and the soldiers began goading each other to dance. "Nothing to worry about, right?" She pushed an unwilling Grimmjow out onto the floor, ignoring his protests.

Orihime decided to stay and observe for a while. Now that she vaguely knew where Ulquiorra was, finding him shouldn't have been too much of a problem. After catching the gist of the dance, she joined in, and even aided Nel in manipulating Grimmjow's arms so that he could at least look a little enthusiastic. The sound of music attracted quite a number of people. Soon the dance floor was filled with citizens in varying states of sobriety, joyfully making fools of themselves. Some even got up the courage to ask Orihime to dance with them, and she was more than happy to oblige them.

An hour later, the sun had set completely and she was rightfully exhausted, having been wandering around the city for most of the day. Her calves were throbbing when she finally excused herself from the dancers, making her way towards the towering castle at the end of the Yellow Brick Road. She'd forgotten to ask Grimmjow and Nel if Ulquiorra was still there, but chances were that he wasn't among the partygoers. He would probably have very little patience for them, she thought sadly.

The castle was filled with guards making rounds, who nodded politely at her as she passed. "Excuse me," she got up the nerve to address one of them, "Have you seen Cifer-san anywhere?"

One of them responded. "Certainly. He was in the castle garden not half an hour ago."

Orihime brightened. "Thank you!" She took off in the direction of the garden, hoping that Ulquiorra hadn't gone far. When she reached the foyer again, she turned and pushed her way through the castle's back doors, stepping into the large, flower-filled garden. A chilly breeze caused her to shiver as she walked, taking in the sight. How were the flowers not wilting in the cold? Perhaps they were enchanted, she thought as she reached out and touched the soft petals of an orange hibiscus. She could hear music drifting in from the dance on the other side of the castle, and above her, the night sky was alight with twinkling stars.

The entire garden was strung up with lanterns, keeping up with the decorations outside of the castle walls, but there was hardly anyone there. Orihime pressed onwards, coming to a maze of sorts that led through rows upon rows of flowers, every species imaginable, save for the magically petrified Six-Petals in her hair. In the center of the maze was a large cherry blossom tree surrounded by a ring of water that split off into smaller streams that snaked through the garden. It was a shame that the sakura hadn't bloomed yet. She passed the tree by, not really sure where she was going.

The back of the garden opened into the forest beyond, the branches so thick and tangled that she couldn't see very far into the darkness. But it was there that she finally found Ulquiorra, standing against one of the palace walls, staring into the woods, hands in his pockets. His head turned in her direction before she could get much closer. Orihime hesitated as his green eyes met hers. "There you are. I've been looking for you all day."

Ulquiorra didn't even blink. "Have you?"

"Well, yeah. We've all been enjoying ourselves, and you were nowhere, so…" She shrugged. "I was worried."

He might as well have been a statue for all that he moved. "There is no reason to worry. I do not have ulterior motives."

Orihime's head whipped up. "That wasn't what I meant." Her cheeks colored. "I was worried about _you_, Ulquiorra-san. You've been different lately." She refrained from joking that Nel and Yoruichi believed that he had feelings for her. She was trying to get him to open up to her, not turn around and walk away. But he wasn't saying anything. He was just… staring at her. The faint music playing in the background changed, and so she decided to focus on that instead. "Hey! I know this might be an odd request, but will you dance with me, Ulquiorra-san?"

His eyes narrowed. "Woman, I am not that idiot, Grimmjow."

She maintained her resolve. "Please?"

Ulquiorra's mouth set into a thin line. He looked away from her. "I do not know how."

"Oh! In that case, there's nothing to worry about! This is a waltz. It's easy," Orihime closed the distance between them and, with the utmost care, put her hand on his arm. He glared at her, but she refused to stand down at that point. Gently pulling him away from the wall, she took his other hand as well. "See, you put this one here," she blushed as she guided it to her back, close to her shoulders and noticed his eyes widen slightly. "Then hold the other one, like this." Her palm lay flat against his, and his gaze shifted to it, his whole body tense as if he were preparing for an attack. Orihime pressed her lips together. "You're supposed to, uh… _hold _it," she reiterated quietly.

Ulquiorra looked back at her, then, and his fingers closed over her own. His skin was cold compared to hers; not bloodless, but frigid nonetheless, as if he'd stuck his hands in the snow for a while. "Is this it?" he questioned her.

"No! No, it's a dance, so now we _move_." Orihime paused for a moment. "Okay. Umm… step forward with your left. Yeah, and I move my right foot back, like so… and then you move your other foot _that _way, and we kind of turn… and then bring your feet together." They came to a stop. "And now we do it again. To the music, though."

Ulquiorra could feel the warmth of her back beneath his fingertips as they moved. "We are dancing in circles," he observed.

"Well, yeah. We're not supposed to go anywhere." Orihime offered him a smile. He gave her none in return. They were closer than they had ever been, with the exception of the day that Ulquiorra had saved her from the cliff. But he kept her at a respectful distance, and she was sure that if she tried to move closer, she wouldn't be able to get his arm to bend. That was alright. Just this was enough to make her happy.

"I am returning to Lord Aizen."

Orihime nearly tripped over his foot. The smile slipped from her face. "W-What?"

Ulquiorra kept them moving, mindful of the music coming from over the wall. "My mission was to bring you as far as the Emerald City," he said calmly. "Now that you are here, I have served my purpose, and shall return to Lord Aizen for further instruction."

"But you can't!" she cried, surprising both of them.

"On the contrary," he said firmly, "I must."

Orihime wished that he was joking, but Ulquiorra definitely wasn't one for jokes. She couldn't bring herself to keep dancing, though her hand remained securely in his. "But we…" she began, then wasn't sure how to continue. But they _what_? Hadn't he made it a point to drill into her head the fact that they weren't allies? Hadn't she believed that herself for a time? Still, she'd been hoping that he'd changed, somehow; that in ignoring Aizen's order to bring her to him, he'd been showing them that he was coming to their side. "I…" she lowered her head. "I understand." There would be no convincing him otherwise. If after all of this time, he hadn't reconsidered his position in the war… "It makes sense. I mean, he's your creator, after all."

Ulquiorra nodded once. He let his hand leave her back, but the other still inexplicably held onto her own, which now lay limp within his grasp.

"When? That is… when are you leaving?"

"Now."

She closed her eyes. "Oh." Everything within her was crying out for her to throw herself down and beg him not to go, but she knew that she couldn't hold him back. "I-It was fun, though; having you with us, as crazy as that might sound." Orihime took in a deep breath, looked up at him, and smiled through her sorrow. "I'll miss you."

Ulquiorra let go of her hand as if it had burned him and turned, stalking towards the woods. He didn't want to be there, not for another second. He would go back to Aizen, put this whole mission behind him, and follow whatever orders he was given. No more strange thoughts. No more sick feelings. No more moments of weakness. He was currently the highest ranking Espada in his master's army, and would act appropriately.

Even if he couldn't get that devastatingly sad smile out of his mind.

…

Orihime wandered back to the party in a daze. He'd just _left_. Without saying anything. Without apologizing, though she didn't see why he should. Gone, just like that. He'd walked into the darkness of the forest and vanished, as if he hadn't spent the last few weeks with them, hadn't grown attached in the slightest.

But she supposed that was what happened when one had no heart.

What would happen when he went back, she wondered. Would Aizen be upset that he'd turned up without her? Would he make some sort of excuse? Was this all part of the warlock's plan?

She'd claimed that she understood, but she didn't. Not in the slightest. Her thoughts were a complete mess. It just didn't add up. How could a so called heartless man be apt to make such decisions – saving her, refusing to give her up to his master – and still act as if he were heartless? Oh, but she'd felt it… or rather, _hadn't _felt it. There was no thrum of life beneath his skin. He was a walking body of rational thought – at least, he was supposed to be. She didn't get it. She simply didn't understand.

The dancing had all but ended when she found Grimmjow, Nel, Rukia, Renji and Yoruichi. "Hey," the two ex-Espada stared at her questioningly, "there you are. Did you manage to find Ulquiorra?"

Orihime froze. A frown suddenly pulled her features downwards, and her hands clenched into fists. What in the hell was she moping around for? She remembered, back in elementary school, when Sora would tell her that if she didn't understand something, she should ask the teachers without fear or hesitation. Was she _really _just going to let Ulquiorra walk away like that, without explaining anything? "You know what?" she said to the small group, "I think I saw him in the castle garden." And with that, she turned back the way she had come, jogging towards the palace again. "I'll be right back!"

There was no guarantee that he would be anywhere in the vicinity. He could have taken off at that Espada speed of his and been halfway back to the mountains by then. But Orihime wasn't going to let him go without trying. She would get an insight into his thoughts, even if she had to tackle him down and unscrew his head to peer into his brain herself.

She charged through the foyer, pushed open the back doors and sent flower petals dancing in her wake as she ran ahead. Soon the trimmed lawn of the castle gave way to the tangled roots of the forest. Her arms swung about her wildly, shoving branches and leaves out of her face as she navigated the underbrush. "Ulquiorra-san!" she called out, doubting that he would hear her, but figuring it was worth a shot anyway. The farther she went, the less knotted the trees became, giving her more room to move. "Ulquiorra-san - ? Ooof!"

She'd run into someone. Taking a startled step back, she relaxed momentarily when she saw that it was _him_, that she hadn't made it too late. Ulquiorra stared down at her as if awaiting an explanation, though he himself appeared to have been headed in the direction of the city, his hands buried in his pockets. "Sorry that I, uh, bumped into you," she fumbled at first, her heart beating a bit harder. "But listen, Ulquiorra-san, I have a few things to say and I want you to - ah!"

It was so fast that she blinked and ended up missing it, but it happened nonetheless. Withdrawing his hands from his pockets, he reached forward, took hold of her wrist and pulled her into an embrace. Orihime's eyes flew wide, her heart fluttering at a maddening pace as his arms found her waist, his cold skin welcome against her flushed body. "It's alright," he said after a number of painfully silent seconds, and she wanted to cry, she was so overcome with joy. Was this really happening, or had she stumbled into some kind of dream sequence? She was always daydreaming back home. "I cannot return to Lord Aizen's side," he continued, "as my allegiance is no longer with him, nor with Oz, but with you."

Orihime thought that she was about to faint. "Ulquiorra-san…"

He squeezed her a bit tighter, and she felt the hilt of his sword dig into her hip. Her gray eyes slid downwards, locking onto the weapon. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, "for having made you doubt me."

Orihime's blood ran cold; colder than his hands, colder than the snowy mountains in which he had first embraced her, colder than his soulless green eyes. "You're not Ulquiorra-san," she whispered, and her stomach flipped uncomfortably. "He didn't have his sword on him when he left. You're not him." Her voice came out in a squeak. She felt his chin lower until his lips just barely brushed the flesh of her earlobe.

"How very observant."

Two fingers pressed into her spine, and there was a jolt of magic across her body before her consciousness failed her and she fell right into Aizen's arms.

…

Kisuke feared that the worst had come to pass when the palace guards nearest to the garden began yelling out orders and scrambling to pursue an unseen enemy. Grabbing his wand, he waved it once and holes opened up on every floor beneath him, until he had dropped swiftly into the palace's foyer, catching himself on a conjured wind. "Out front, Lord Urahara!" one of the guards yelled, and Kisuke swung his wand forward, the doors bursting open and flying off of their hinges.

Everyone in the Emerald City seemed to be running in one direction, angry cries filling the air. A streak of blue caught his eye and he saw Grimmjow sprinting forward, an enraged look on his face, with an eerily expressionless Nel behind him. With another jolt of magic, he caught up to them, running alongside the two soldiers. "What happened?" he asked over the noise.

Nel didn't respond, but Grimmjow turned on him and bellowed, "It's that bastard, Ulquiorra! He took Orihime!"

Kisuke's eyes widened. He saw two blurs moving along the rooftops overhead that he recognized as Yoruichi and Byakuya. "Over there!" someone yelled, and the mob abruptly veered to the left.

Standing atop the city's wall, Urahara saw for himself: the black-haired Espada with the unconscious girl in his arms, his face devoid of emotion. Ulquiorra glared down at them for a moment, then the two of them disappeared in a swirl of Aizen's magic just as Yoruichi sprung onto the spot where he'd been. "No!" she screamed, looking around wildly. "Where did he go? Orihime, _no_!"

The party was over. The city was in uproar. Kisuke stood among the frantic crowd, his wand clenched tightly in hand. If his hunch was correct, things were about to get much, much worse. He looked up towards the wall, where Byakuya had a kicking Yoruichi by the shoulders. "General Kuchiki, gather every able fighter and assemble them on the yellow brick road! Hurry!" he yelled, then began weaving magical symbols into the air, sending them forward to be implanted in the city's walls.

Aizen had made his move, and if General Hitsugaya's words were true, they were already running out of time to counter it.

Meanwhile, at a short distance from the city, the _real _Ulquiorra had just realized that he'd left his blade behind in the castle. He sighed and looked over his shoulder, not wanting to make the trek back and risk seeing the Promised Child again, but if he turned up at Aizen's fortress without his weapon as well, he would be severely reprimanded. And so he began walking in the direction of the Emerald City, completely unaware of the fact that everybody in it was out for his blood.

**To Be Continued**


	21. All Out War

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, the Wizard of Oz, or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**All Out War**

Ulquiorra had been expecting to find the Emerald City in the same jovial state as when he had left it behind. So when he came upon the gates and discovered the metropolis a ghost town – all party decorations left in their places, games that remained unfinished, food standing out in the breeze and growing colder by the second – he felt slightly unnerved. It was as if all the soldiers, guards, and magicians had been mysteriously spirited away.

He paused in the middle of the Yellow Brick Road, realizing that he could not even sense Grimmjow or Nelliel. Impossible. As a higher ranking Espada, the only way he _wouldn't _be able to sense them was if they were being cloaked by magic.

In the blink of an eye, Ulquiorra had been rather abruptly thrown to the ground. He caught himself easily with both hands, and was ready to whirl around and face his attacker when he felt a crushing impact in the center of his spine that caused a searing pain to jolt through him. His hands gave under the pressure and he hit the yellow pavement hard, knocking the wind out of his lungs. _What is this?_ He got to his feet a lot slower than he would have normally, and it wasn't until he saw his opponent that he understood why.

Nelliel stood before him, her normally cheerful face devoid of expression, sword drawn. Nelliel outranked him, but why was she _attacking_ him? "What is the meaning of this?" he asked her, keeping his pockets unoccupied in the event that he would have to make another hasty dodge.

The green-haired woman did not answer. She lifted her blade and charged at him without so much as a battle cry, her party dress fluttering in the wind.

Ulquiorra took several hurried steps backwards, managing to evade every jab she made into the empty air where his head had once been. He leapt past her, coattails flapping behind him, and pointed a finger at her, gathering energy for a cero. But before he could attack her, before he could even remember that a cero would be ineffective against his superior officer, a clawed hand clamped down on his shoulder and, using the momentum of his own attempted escape, threw him full-speed into a building. The force of his body hitting the wall caused the whole thing to cave in, rock and brick flying in all directions. Ulquiorra planted his feet into the ground, skidding to a halt in the middle of what appeared to be a hotel lobby, the heat of the friction burning the soles of his shoes. "Tch."

Standing in the gaping hole that had been ripped into the side of the building was Grimmjow, in his release form. He crouched low, his canines bared at Ulquiorra. "I will ask again," the black-haired Espada dusted off his clothing, "_what is the meaning of this_?"

"Like you don't _fucking know_!" Grimmjow cried, rushing forward at a blinding speed. Ulquiorra side-stepped him just as his claw demolished the other wall, and the building groaned with the strain of having its lowest level of support gone. But Ulquiorra had no time to consider getting away, as Nelliel had been waiting outside, and immediately attacked once Grimmjow had passed. Plaster and debris were beginning to fall, a huge crack appearing in the ceiling above them as Ulquiorra continued to block each strike of her sword. When he saw that a significant hole had opened up, he caught himself on the floor and leapt through it, firing a cero above to clear the way through the remaining five stories.

He burst into the night sky, glancing below him. The building had collapsed on Nelliel. Like that would stop her. As he plummeted back towards the earth, two wings split from his back, catching the air and slowing his descent.

No sooner had his feet touched the ground than he felt someone grab him and found himself face down in the pavement again, a weight made more dense by a surge of magical energy keeping him in place. This time, it was General Yoruichi Shihoin who held him restrained with one arm behind his back. "Where is Orihime?" she demanded, and though he could not see her face, Ulquiorra was sure that the woman was enraged by the venomous tone of her voice.

He lifted his head marginally for the sake of speech. "How should I know?" This was, apparently the wrong answer. The woman forced his head into the ground.

"You have the nerve to make off with her in front of the _entire city_, then play dumb when we ask you a simple question?" Yoruichi snarled.

The situation was slowly beginning to dawn on Ulquiorra. The woman was… missing? No, that wasn't possible. He had seen her less than an hour before. She'd been fine.

"_I'll miss you."_

His eyes closed against the memory, keeping his thought train on its intended path. How in the world did they think that he'd kidnapped her when he hadn't even been in the vicinity? What the hell was going on? Ignoring Yoruichi's subsequent demands, the advancing Nelliel and Grimmjow, and the crumbling of the building they had unintentionally demolished in their argument, he listened to his surroundings. Finally he picked up the sound of armor clattering, of soldiers being prepared for battle.

So that's where everybody had gone. Something had happened in his absence. The woman was missing, the forces of Oz were on the move, and for whatever reason, they thought that _he _was responsible for the disappearance of the Promised Child, which could only mean…

His blood ran cold. _Aizen_.

Ulquiorra managed to get his legs working, pushed up onto his knees and bent backwards, slamming General Shihoin headfirst into the pavement. The woman's grip on his arm loosened and he tore free, charging towards the Emerald Castle. He could sense Grimmjow and Nel hot on his heels, but he had no time to fight them now. Without his sword, he couldn't access his full power, which was something that he would need to get back to Aizen's fortress as quickly as possible.

How could he have been so stupidly self-assured? Of course the warlock would take matters into his own hands eventually. After his soldiers' repeated failures, he must have been getting tired of sitting on his hands. And now the woman was in danger. If Aizen decided that he didn't want a queen after all, she would be killed in the blink of an eye, her kind heart ripped to pieces.

_Boom_.

Ulquiorra slowed to a stop. "Damn it."

_Boom_.

Grimmjow and Nel had frozen as well, their eyes widening in disbelief. The ground beneath them was shaking, an eerie silence falling over the entire city before a massive explosion demolished one of its walls, magical seals crumbling like sand. And there stood the behemoth Yammy Riyalgo, almost as tall as the Emerald Castle itself, the weight of his footsteps causing miniature earthquakes that sent soldiers stumbling. He let out a bellow of laughter, swatting one enormous arm and taking out a chunk of the army gathered on the yellow brick road. "Fools!" he cried as Rukia's magic bounced off of him harmlessly. "How dare you celebrate such a small victory in Lord Aizen's presence?"

Yoruichi, just coming back to her senses after the blow to the head, saw the intruder and swore colorfully. She looked for Grimmjow and Nel and found them a short distance away. "Don't get distracted!" she ordered them. "Find…!" Her sentence trailed off.

Ulquiorra was nowhere to be found.

"Shit!" She scrambled to her feet. Whether she wanted to or not, she would have to redirect her attention to the bigger opponent for the time being. They would undoubtedly find the fourth Espada somewhere in the midst of the mayhem. And if kidnapping Orihime, then sending Yammy in so that he could escape in the confusion had been his original plan, then she would just have to make his death even slower and more painful than she'd already been considering.

A bright light burst across their vision, causing everyone to wince collectively. It was Kisuke, on the roof of a nearby building, writing an enormous magical symbol that he promptly threw into the sky. Anyone in the country would be able to see it, and Yoruichi knew exactly what it was and who it was directed to: a signal to the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions in the mountains to attack Aizen's fortress.

Oz's rules were forgotten. It was an all out war.

…

Luckily for Ulquiorra, the castle guards had left their posts to fight the city's intruder. He ran through the halls unopposed, wondering where his sword had been placed. If he stopped long enough to pinpoint the magical energy surrounding the blade, then he could –

Ulquiorra dove to the floor mere seconds before Yammy's thick tail slammed into the castle, cutting through it like a warm knife through butter. The top portion of the structure began to sway unsteadily. Ulquiorra brought forth his wings again, folding them over his body to shield himself from the falling stones, steel and furniture. He had to bear it all. If he used a cero to destroy everything coming at him, he would be discovered and attacked.

Looks like Yammy was trying to do away with him as well. Figures. Aizen couldn't trust him anymore; his last actions had labeled him a traitor. He was fair game, just like the Oz soldiers attempting to fight off the giant monster laying waste to their city.

Once he was certain that the castle had finished collapsing, Ulquiorra used his wings to sweep aside everything that had fallen around him. Great. How was he supposed to find his sword _now_? He could always call it to his side, but that would require magic, which would alert everyone to his exact position. But it was a risk that he realized he would have to take. Once the weapon was in his hand, he could leave the city without anymore delay. He could return to the icy fortress and…

…and what? Try to convince Aizen of his innocence? No. That was the farthest thing from his rational mind at the moment. Extending his hand towards the wreckage of the Emerald Castle, he motioned with his fingers and, on cue, the sword flew out of the rubble and landed straight in his palm.

Perfect. Now all he needed to do was get away.

His wings extended and he pushed off into the air, managing to just barely avoid a cero fired at him by Yammy, who was simultaneously warding off Grimmjow and Nelliel's attacks. Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed in irritation. If he wasn't in such a hurry, he'd deal with Yammy himself.

"There he is!" a voice cried, and that was the last thing Ulquiorra heard before he was hit by something that sent fire through his insides. Eyes widening, he felt himself descending towards the dark forest outside of the city and tried desperately to get his wings to work, but the bat-like appendages dissolved into black ash. He snapped several tree branches on his way down, sending up a cloud of dirt when he finally hit the ground at near full speed.

What the hell had happened? He lifted his right arm and saw it: Rukia's magical insignia burned into his hand. The stupid witch had sealed his power.

Getting to his feet again, he felt every bruise on his body throb. This wasn't good. He felt so weak, so disgustingly human. But from what he knew of magic, he could see that this was a temporary seal. If he kept forcing his own energy against it, the seal would fail. It'd take at least twenty minutes of time that he didn't have, though.

Looking towards the snowy mountain range in the distance, he decided to keep moving, as pained as he was. He _should _be able to run, though not nearly as fast as he could have flown to the fortress. But until the seal was destroyed, he wouldn't be able to use his wings.

_Damn it_. He felt fury rising up in him at the thought of the circumstances, of what was at stake. He let the anger propel him forward, leaving the burning city behind. What did he care? His allegiance was not with Oz, nor was it with Aizen anymore; the warlock had made his opinion of Ulquiorra very clear. He had but one goal, a mission that had merely been implied:

Protect the Promised Child, no matter what it cost him.

…

"_Hey_…"

Orihime, slowly coming out of her magic-induced sleep, began to feel several things at once. First of all, wherever she was, it was _freezing_. A party dress was totally inappropriate for what seemed to be subzero temperatures. Secondly, there was a hand on her shoulder, and someone was shaking her rather insistently. "Oh, please wake up. _Please_…" she heard a feminine voice whimper.

Her eyes flew open and she bolted upright with a gasp, startling her companion. Were those _iron bars_ that she saw through the darkness? Was she in jail? Allowing her eyes to get adjusted to the minimal lighting, she then sat back on her bottom and drew her knees up to her chest, tucking her arms between as shivers began tearing through her body. "S-So cold!"

"Here," the female voice caught her attention again, and she found that she was sharing the cell with a short, sick-looking black-haired girl who was holding a blanket out to her. "I think the Promised Child needs this more than I do."

Orihime took the offered blanket cautiously, examining her companion. She was small, quite pale with bruise-colored circles beneath her eyes, and incredibly thin. Clothing-wise she didn't seem much better off than Orihime was, and there were scars around her ankles and wrists, as if from shackles. "Thanks…"

The girl smiled. "We've been waiting for you," she sat back as Orihime wrapped the blanket around her body. "I'm so happy that I got to see you before…" her voice trailed off, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Before what?" Orihime implored her to keep going.

She shook her head. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm not the most optimistic person in the world," she wiped her cheeks with shaking hands. "I've been here a long time, hoping for someone to come rescue me, but I don't think-!" She broke off with a sudden coughing fit that made her thin shoulders jerk, and when she got control of her breathing, it sounded raspy and shallow. "I don't think they'll get to me in time." She gave Orihime a watery smile. "You're much better off than I am."

Orihime swallowed the lump in her throat. "Who are you?" she whispered, concern for the girl's health taking hold of her.

"M-My name is Momo Hinamori. I'm a native of the Spindle region, but I haven't seen the outside of this fortress in years." The girl dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her own dress. "I am Warlock Aizen's wife."

"Wife?"

"My parents didn't know what they were sending me to," Momo sobbed, giving up and burying her face in her hands. "We all th-thought that he was a nice, respectable s-sorcerer, and then…"

Orihime gazed at the crying girl with an overwhelming sense of pity. Did she know that Aizen was looking to replace her as well, that he was bent on making the Promised Child his new wife? She was about to ask her when she felt the floor shake, which was followed by the delayed report of an explosion. Her heart stuttered with panic. "Momo, what's going on?" she asked, coming closer to her.

Momo had lifted her head, eyes wide. "C-Could it be?" She looked up at Orihime. "Of course, if you're _here_, then that means…"

_Boom!_

"They've come to rescue you." She allowed herself a small smile. "You're going to be saved, Promised Child."

Orihime stood up, letting the blanket fall back onto the sick girl. There was a barred window through which snow was coming in, and she shifted her weight onto her toes, trying to get a look out of it. When that didn't work, she hopped up and down until she caught a glimpse of a magical exchange in the darkness. "You're right!" she cried. "It must be the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions!"

Momo drew the blanket around her tightly. "Sh-Shiro-chan is…?" She was cut off by another series of painful coughs.

Orihime stooped down, rubbing the girl's back soothingly. "Hey, save your strength. You look really sick," she said. Momo drew her hand away from her mouth, and Orihime saw blood staining her small palm. "Oh no… here, sit against the wall! Don't try to support yourself, okay? Just rest!"

This was bad. She was stuck in a freezing cold cell with Aizen's ill and possibly dying wife while the fortress came under siege. How many of the warlock's soldiers stood between Oz's forces and the dungeon? Would they get to them in time? Would they get to them at all?

_Click_.

Orihime gasped and turned to face the cell door, putting herself in front of Momo to shield her. Someone was coming. She could see light approaching from the left, growing steadily brighter. Was it Aizen? Had he arrived to finish them both off? Would he just kill Momo and drag Orihime off to be 'made an example of?' The footsteps drew closer still, and Orihime briefly considered hiding in the shadows to spring on the attacker when they opened the cell door, but it was too late. The lamp swung into view and…

"Gin?" she breathed in surprise.

The silver-haired sorcerer grinned. "Yup! Nice t'see ya, Promised Child!" He reached into his sleeve for his wand and tapped the lock on the cell door once. It came open, falling to the ground with a clatter. "Allow me to be of service to ya again. It looks like the cavalry's arrived anyway." He threw open the door and motioned for Orihime to move aside. Placing a hand on Momo's forehead, he cringed as the barely responsive girl gave him a glassy-eyed look. "Damn. We need to get her out of here."

"Will she be okay?" Orihime helped Momo onto Gin's back and kept the blanket wrapped securely around her, despite the fact that she herself was numbing from the cold.

"The others have medicine, I'm sure," Gin smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. General Hitsugaya would fight the warlock alone before letting her die."

"Shiro-chan," Momo murmured weakly against Gin's back.

"Come on." He grabbed the lamp and led Orihime out of the dungeon. There was an enormous, winding staircase leading further up into the fortress or farther down into an abyss. Some of the steps were slick with ice, while others appeared dilapidated to the point of crumbling. It didn't seem very safe either way. "Watch your step," he warned Orihime.

"Wait!" She stopped him dead in his tracks. "No, I can't leave." Another explosion went through the bottom of the fortress, causing the entire structure to shake, icicles plummeting into the darkness below. "I have to destroy the hougyoku!" And find Ulquiorra, she neglected to add. "Where is it?"

Gin shook his head. "You can't; not without the rest of us there to protect you. Warlock Aizen is up in his viewing chamber now, keeping an eye on both battles."

"_Both _battles?"

He nodded. "The Emerald City is under attack as well."

Several floors above them, Aizen sat on his throne, overseeing the skirmishes that he was currently winning. But suddenly he felt a disturbance in his magical energy and frowned. Someone had freed the women in the dungeon. "Hmm," he stood, "they won't get far." And even though he would have preferred to stay where he was, he began making his way towards the stairs, regretting having sent out all of his servants. Oh well. If he wanted something done right, he would just have to do it himself.

…

It was no use. Whatever spells were on Yammy were so intricately layered that Kisuke and Rukia, switching back and forth from offensive to defensive magic, were having a hard time getting through them. Meanwhile the giant was wreaking havoc on the Emerald City and its occupying soldiers. Bodies were being tossed around like weightless sacks, buildings demolished left and right. Even Grimmjow and Nel, both in their release forms, were barely scratching Yammy's skin. He was like a speeding cannonball, completely unstoppable.

Yoruichi found the wizard protecting a group of injured soldiers while simultaneously healing their wounds. "Kisuke!" she yelled, taking her place next to him. "What are we going to do?"

"That's a very good question, my dear," he forced a smile to his face, "one that I unfortunately lack an answer to."

She scowled at him. "Don't tell me you didn't have a plan of action in the event that something like this happened."

"Of course I did!" He grinned. "It was called _Run for Your Lives_."

"So you're saying that we should retreat, then?"

"We aren't making any progress here." Kisuke sent a glance towards the mountains. "Besides, our main concern is helping the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions take down Aizen. If we can get him out of the way, the spells on Yammy should fall apart and then he'll be _much _easier to deal with."

Yoruichi shook her head. "We can't abandon the Emerald City! What would happen if – "

"It's impossible," Kisuke interrupted her. "I'm the only one who can open the gate to the royal city from this side. They'll be fine. We need to worry about our own." He searched the surrounding chaos. "Look, here's what we'll do. You take the survivors and get to the mountains as fast as possible. Use Rukia's magic if you have to. I'll stay here and distract the Espada."

"No way! You're going to get yourself killed!" Yoruichi cried.

Kisuke looked at her. "Better for you, right? Then no one will be standing between you and General Kuchiki." His words caused her to flinch and avert her gaze. He reached out and tilted her chin up, offering her a gentle smile. "Don't worry about me, Yoruichi. Your duty as a general comes first."

She nodded slowly. "Be careful," she whispered, then turned to run. "Retreat!" she yelled to the soldiers of the Sixth and Second Divisions. "Head towards the mountains! The Emerald City is a lost cause!"

Grimmjow landed nearby and caught her order. He had half a mind to keep fighting, but knew that the general was right. They had to get to Aizen's fortress, to save Orihime before their only remaining hope was killed. Not to mention, he was dying to sink his claws into Ulquiorra. He ran and joined Nel, pulling her away from the battle to follow Yoruichi and the surviving soldiers through the destroyed wall of the city.

Rukia was flying overhead, looking out towards the forest. She could sense the spell that she had placed on Ulquiorra wearing off, losing his location as he went deeper into the woods. They wouldn't be able to catch him until they reached the fortress, probably. If only she'd been stronger! She could have permanently sealed his powers, rendering him useless to the enemy. Now the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions were in danger of having one of the most fearsome Espada fighting against them.

But before the retreating army could get much further, a flash of lightning in a cloudless sky startled them all to an abrupt halt. Rukia felt a chill go down her spine as waves of magical energy emanated from the Emerald Castle, the air behind its fallen spire rippling like a disturbed pond. Yoruichi felt it too, attempting to smooth down the goosebumps covering her arms.

"What _is_ that?" Grimmjow asked as the rippling grew faster still. It was giving him a headache, whatever it was. Nel grabbed his arm, pointing into the center of the ripples.

"Look!"

The very air seemed to be tearing open, revealing a sunny forest in the center of the night surrounding them; a whole other world coming into view for the astonished soldiers to see. And even from that distance they could make out two figures emerging from that other world, clad in armor, one carrying a large sword on their shoulders while the other kept their hands pocketed.

Yoruichi paled. "Oh dear."

Grimmjow turned to her, jabbing a finger in the direction of the mysterious warriors. "Hey, lady! I thought you said that Coyote Starrk and Tia Harribel were dead!"

Yoruichi's palm came up to meet her forehead. "We're in trouble."

"Answers, cat woman! Right now!"

She spared him a troubled glance. "The Espada's Coyote Starrk and Tia Harribel are dead," she agreed, turning to watch the scruffy brunette man and bored-looking blond woman approach the battleground. "The legendary warriors Coyote Starrk and Tia Harribel of the Royal Guard are _not_."

The blond woman brought her sword down from her shoulders and pointed it at the Wizard, who held his hands up in a sheepish greeting. "Kisuke Urahara," she declared in a husky voice, "we are here to clean up your mess. Don't think it will happen again."

"What's going on?" Yammy roared, shocked at the sight of his revived superiors. "What are you two doing wearing Oz's emblem on your uniforms?"

"Tch," Starrk withdrew a large gun from his pocket. "Clones should keep their mouths shut." And with one squeeze of the trigger, a surge of magical energy exploded from the gun, shot forward, and blew a clean hole through Yammy's head, slicing through Aizen's magic as if it were paper. The enormous body staggered back, then pitched forward, demolishing what was left of the Emerald City.

Starrk blew the smoke from his gun. Tia arched an eyebrow in Kisuke's direction. Yoruichi shook her head sadly. Kisuke let out a nervous laugh. "Uh… it's nice to see that you two are as strong as ever!"

…

Ulquiorra had reached the foot of the mountains, and was now looking forward to a very daunting climb. But he had to do it. He had to keep going, no matter what. That woman would probably run around the fortress searching for him like an idiot, putting herself at risk of being attacked by the other Espada, or worse. He tried not to think about it as he ignored the winding paths heading up the mountains in favor of scaling the cliff walls – it was much faster that way.

Still, he couldn't help but question his own motives. Why was this suddenly so important to him? He'd been willing to part with her, so long as she was safe? That made no sense. Then again, he'd practically had to force his feet to move the farther he had gotten from the Emerald City with that sad smile haunting his conscience. So he… he hadn't been willing to part with her?

Had he known somehow that all that waited for him at the fortress was execution at the hands of his creator? Did he really prefer execution over whatever that woman had to offer him?

What _did _she have to offer him? She was spacey, naïve, troublesome. She wasn't even _from _this world. Sure she was the only person in any world who could destroy Aizen and the hougyoku, but what would freedom from the man mean to Ulquiorra? His existence would become meaningless. He would wander Oz aimlessly for the rest of his life, however long it might have been.

There was no hope of him fitting in anywhere; he didn't have a heart. He would never understand humans and the emotions that motivated them to fight for their friends and families, to fight for their worlds, or to even shed mercy on their enemies. He would never understand why the woman was so sad to see him go, why she'd given in to the hope that he would change his mind about them.

These things were beyond his comprehension, and yet, he couldn't let it go. He _wanted _to understand. He wanted to know why the woman had treated him the same as everyone else, why she had been so motivated to find him whenever he'd gone off on his own, why she continued to get close to him no matter how much he'd tried to push her away.

There had to be a reason for this madness, for the desperation he felt with each passing minute, for the longing he had to correct the wrong he had committed by making the woman look at him so sadly. He had to get to her. He had to find her, had to rescue her because he…

Ulquiorra froze. It was beginning to snow around him; he had climbed so fast without even realizing it. He looked at his hand, where Rukia's magical seal had just finished fading away. And turning his eyes skyward, sensing Aizen's power so far above him, he pushed away from the rocky cliff. His wings separated from his back. In a burst of anger-fueled magic, he tore through the air, concentrating on Aizen's aura.

The warlock was going to pay for putting the woman in danger.

…

"Tell me where the hougyoku chamber is!" Orihime hissed, grabbing Gin by the front of the shirt and bringing him forward.

"I can't allow you to go up there by yourself!"

"So come with me!"

"We have to get Momo to safety!"

"I-I can walk…"

"No you can't!" the two yelled at her, and she cowered behind Gin's shoulders. Orihime let out a frustrated cry and let him go.

"There's no time for this! Please, Gin! I'll be careful, I promise!"

The silver-haired magician hesitated. He knew that if he let her go and she got herself killed, it would be more than just Rangiku out for his blood. He'd have to flee the country – possibly the world, because if Aizen was in control, then he was screwed as a traitor anyway. Momo coughed into his back, and he remembered that they really _didn't _have time to argue. "Alright!" he hovered at the top of the staircase anxiously. "The floor beneath Aizen's viewing chamber houses the dining hall. If you go to the end of it, you'll see a wall there that should have a patch of ice surrounding one of its bricks. Get rid of the ice, push the brick in and the wall will open into another corridor that should lead to the hougyoku chamber."

Orihime made mental notes of everything and smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Gin. Now get Momo to…"

A ripple of magical energy went through the room. Without warning, Aizen appeared between them, a leisurely smile on his otherwise emotionless face. Momo screamed in horror. Gin took a step back and nearly fell down the stairs. Orihime staggered away from the warlock, her hands flying up to her chest as if it would shield her heart from whatever terrifying magic he could use to crush it.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Aizen looked at Orihime, then at Gin and Momo. "I had a feeling I'd find a rat among my ranks."

Gin let Momo down, trusting her ability to walk. "Run!" he ordered her. "Get downstairs as fast as-!" His sentence was cut off as a bolt of magical energy struck him in the side, leaving a gaping, bleeding wound in its wake. Orihime and Momo both shrieked as Gin lost his footing and fell, plunging into the abyss below.

Aizen's smile widened. "That's a shame," he said as calmly as ever. "Now then, who will…?" Blinking once, he realized that he was now alone; both girls had taken off in opposite directions. He sighed. "Women these days." He cast a look towards where Momo had disappeared to. Oh well. He didn't need her anymore, and as sick as she was, her lungs would probably give out before she made it to safety. His principal concern was the Promised Child, who seemed to be heading towards the hougyoku chamber. "Such a shame, Orihime Inoue. You would have made a lovely bride."

…

Orihime was amazed at her ability to run and cry at the same time. Her path was blurred by tears that she quickly wiped away. Oh Gin… poor Gin! He had made the ultimate sacrifice for Oz! There was a chance that he could be alright; he was a magician, after all, possibly a powerful one if he had worked under Aizen for so long. He would be alright, she decided, rejecting the notion that he could die from one strike.

She had to focus. Several times she slipped on the staircase, scuffing her knees and palms on the ice that burned her skin as she hit it. Once she almost fell into the abyss herself, but managed to regain her footing and continue her climb.

All of this time and she hadn't seen Ulquiorra. Wasn't he here? Perhaps he was part of the army that was fighting the Tenth and Eleventh Divisions? No. She couldn't see him as an enemy, even though he should have been somewhere in this fortress, having returned to his master's side. Would she encounter him up above? Was he protecting the hougyoku chamber? Would _she _have to fight him? He wouldn't attack her, would he? Sure he had when they'd initially met, but that was a long time ago. They had history now – history that couldn't have meant much to him if he'd been willing to leave in the first place.

"No," Orihime told herself with a fierce conviction. She'd promised that she would trust him, and that promise would stand, even now. Even though the circumstances were bad, even though people were undoubtedly dying in both battle locations, even though Ulquiorra hadn't given her reason to believe otherwise, she would trust him.

The end of the staircase was ahead of her. She veered off a story before, finding the long dining hall unoccupied. Apparently they had been in the midst of a meal, as there were still food items left on the table. She took one step into the room… and bumped into Aizen's chest.

Orihime cried out and fell backwards. She gazed up at the warlock, breaking out into a cold sweat. His very presence was suffocating. Her heart was threatening to explode from the effort of her run and the influence of his fearsome power. Dragging herself around him, so that his back was facing the door and hers was pointed in the direction of the hougyoku chamber, she scrambled to her feet as he stepped towards her. "Wait!" she cried.

Aizen watched the girl curiously as she grabbed a pitcher of water off the table and, without warning, splashed him in the face with its chilly contents. He stared at her blankly.

Orihime stared at the now empty pitcher in her hand. He wasn't melting. "Huh," she muttered with a shrug, "it was worth a shot." Then she threw the pitcher at him, and it hit the warlock's forehead with a loud _clang_! His hands flew up to cover his offended skin, a growl rumbling in his throat as Orihime ran for the brick wall that Gin had designated.

There was the ice! She grabbed at it, trying to pull it away, but it was frozen solid. She banged her fists against it until her knuckles began to bleed, all too aware of the warlock that was slowly gaining on her. A frightened sob choked her as Aizen's shadow fell over her body and the wall ahead of her.

And then the wall to their left collapsed. Both Aizen and Orihime looked up in time to see a black blur shoot through the opening; one that got between them and, with a kick to the face like that of an enraged horse, sent Aizen flying through the opposite wall and into the snowy night, his cry echoing as he fell down the side of the mountain.

Orihime pressed her back against the wall, staring up at the wings of her savior, which then dissipated as Ulquiorra turned to look at her. His Espada uniform was dirty and tattered in places, as if he had taken quite a beating on his way there. He wore a cautious expression that deviated only slightly from his norm. She felt her heart swelling with joy, her cheeks flushing. "Ulquiorra-san," she whispered, stepping forward. "You… you came to save me."

Ulquiorra nodded once. "Did you doubt me?"

"No! No, not at all! I just… I'm so…" Orihime couldn't even finish her thought; there were so many things going through her mind.

He surprised her by taking her face into his hands. "Then that is all I needed to know." And, because he probably hadn't been thinking rationally for weeks, he gave in to the impulse and kissed her, savoring the warmth of her lips against his.

Orihime's knees went weak. She had just enough time to return the kiss as he reached past her and snapped the ice off of the brick with one bend of his wrist. Then he pulled away, and she could have sworn that his green eyes were brighter than they had ever been. "Stay safe," he told her before leaving her behind, his wings emerging once again as he went after the fallen warlock.

Her determination renewed, Orihime pushed the brick into place. The wall came open with the grating sound of stone against stone, and a dark corridor stretched out ahead of her, at the end of which she could see a very faint light. _This is it_, she thought, uttering a quick prayer for everyone's safety. Then she ran towards the hougyoku's glow, resolving to destroy it once and for all.

**To Be Continued**


	22. Elegy in the Snow

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, The Wizard of Oz, or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Elegy in the Snow**

"_Gin!_"

Ice blue eyes opened to find the well-defined cleavage of Rangiku Matsumoto mere centimeters away. A wide smile spread across the injured magician's face. "Well, if that ain't a sight for sore eyes." His hands came to life, reaching up for a squeeze when he was dealt a blow to the chin.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Rangiku glared down at him. "Try not to be too lively, huh? You might open that wound of yours."

"Sorry, Ran. Thought I was dreamin'," Gin lied happily. He observed that his torso was bandaged, the skin underneath the gauze quite thin and easy to tear. A rapid and temporary healing job done by another magician, no doubt. He also saw that the battle was still going on around them; he was being closely guarded by several soldiers while the others continued to fight Aizen's conjured creatures. A fierce snowstorm whipped about them, making visibility poor. "Hey, where's Momo? Is she alright?"

"We've got her. Condition's about as good as yours. We've got some basic medicine which should keep her from dying, but she'll need to get to a proper medical facility if she's going to make a full recovery." Rangiku searched the battleground through the blinding snow until she found General Hitsugaya, covered in an armor of magic ice, hacking through several of Aizen's soldiers. "Too bad for them that we're in Boss's element."

Gin nodded and looked up at her as she smoothed a hand over his forehead. "Say… who healed me?" he asked quietly. "It wasn't you, was it?"

Rangiku smiled sadly. "No, it was Good Witch Rukia. The other divisions arrived a little while ago." She sighed, noticing his dejected expression. "You know, when Urahara said that it was completely gone, he meant it."

"Ah, that's a shame. Got my hopes up for a second."

"Nothing wrong with having hope." They watched as Aizen's soldiers began to fall back, running for the fortress, only to be pursued. "It's enough, Gin. You don't have to do anything more for me. Please, don't put yourself in any more danger for a lost cause."

Gin placed his hand over hers. "I won't." He neglected to mention that Orihime was still in the fortress somewhere, searching for the hougyoku. But if Momo was with them, it could only mean that the warlock's full attention was now on the Promised Child.

…

Ulquiorra found Aizen in a snowy drift, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth and looking quite unbothered. He stood at a safe distance from the smiling warlock, but drew his sword, pointing it in his direction. Aizen lifted his head, standing tall. "My, my, this is an interesting sight." His hands spread out in an almost welcoming gesture. "The most loyal Espada in my ranks turned traitor? You have lowered yourself to the likes of Grimmjow?"

"With all due respect, Lord Aizen, please do not compare me to that buffoon." Ulquiorra didn't skip a beat.

Aizen chuckled. "Still compelled to address me as 'master,' I see. You must be quite confused, Ulquiorra." He paced in the snow. "Given your nature, I suppose that this isn't surprising. I feel as if I am to blame for this."

Ulquiorra shook his head once. "I am not confused."

The warlock stopped, sending him an amused glance. "Then tell me, are you _in love_ with the Promised Child?" He waited several seconds, but received no answer. Aizen stretched his arm out to the side. "If you will not tell me," he said as a gnarled wand materialized in his hand, "then I suppose I will have to judge how serious you are and see for myself." With a gust of magical wind, the wand began to reshape itself, elongating and sharpening until it had become a sword nearly identical to Ulquiorra's.

The Espada sighed. He had known from the start that he was outmatched; doubtlessly the first few minutes of the battle would be devoted to Aizen toying with him before striking a handful of lethal blows and lording it over him. But if the woman could figure out how to destroy the hougyoku soon, it wouldn't have to come to that.

Perhaps he shouldn't have left her on her own?

…

"Crap," Orihime muttered as she stared at the glowing hougyoku sitting atop a stone table. "I have no idea how to do this."

She had been examining the jewel for two minutes now, seeing if there was a scratch or a chip on its surface that she could work with. But the hougyoku was smoother than a baby's bottom, and she was no closer to figuring out how to destroy it. Pacing back and forth, she reached up and pat the flower-shaped pins tucked securely in her hair. Somehow _those _were supposed to destroy it.

How to summon forth their power, though? The few times that she had used them were by accident, by sheer force of will. It had been a desperate situation that needed immediate attention. And while _this_ situation was certainly desperate, she wasn't in any physical danger… _yet_.

Orihime stopped pacing and faced the jewel, taking in a deep breath. Then she pushed her hands towards it. "Break," she commanded the hougyoku, and it showed no signs of change. "Uh… shatter. Away with ye! Please?" Nothing. She picked it up and brought it closer to her face. "Look you, I don't like you, and you don't like me. But I'm not causing the world any problems, okay? You're an abomination, and I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to disappear."

The jewel shimmered a happy pink. "Damn it!" she cried, throwing it against the floor. It bounced and rolled away harmlessly. "Making it feel bad about itself didn't work. Commanding it didn't work…" She went after it, picked it up again, and tapped it repeatedly against her hairpins. "Break, break, break!"

She was wasting time. Any moment now Ulquiorra would walk in through the door, see her scratching her head and sigh with no attempt to hide his disappointment. Savior of Oz. Yeah, right. Orihime set the hougyoku back down on its resting place. If she could control the Six-Petal flowers, then that had to mean that she had _some _kind of magical potential, right? Otherwise, why would Aizen bother to make her into his wife?

The thought had her shivering in disgust. She suppressed it quickly.

Well, how did the magicians use their magical powers? Was it natural for them? Did she have to believe in it with all of her heart, like the method to keeping fairies alive? That could prove difficult. It'd be like trying to get her to believe in Santa Claus after years of knowing that the most real that he would get was an overweight actor at the mall in a cheap polyester suit.

Well, she had to try _something_. She squeezed her eyes shut and began to chant in her mind. _I do believe in magic. I do believe in magic. I do believe in magic! _She cracked one eye open. Neither hairpins nor hougyoku had changed.

"This calls for drastic measures," she declared. Steeling her resolve, she took a step forward… and began searching for an instruction manual.

…

"Really, Urahara. We expected _so _much more from the Great Wizard of Oz."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"This is no time to be smiling."

"Yes ma'am."

"Do you realize the danger that you have put this world in: taking in such a dangerous student, letting him do as he pleased, and leaving two very important projects unguarded?"

"Yes ma'am."

"You are a powerful man, but so painfully naïve."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Yo Tia, should we really be lecturing him when, y'know, there's a war still going on up there… technically?"

"Furthermore, you will explain to us why the _real _Grimmjow and Nelliel did not recognize us."

"Ah, well, you see, I believe that Ai-chan – "

_Snort._

" – might have done something to tamper with their brains in the process of turning them into his, err, loyal Espada."

"Right. And I suspect that he did the same to Nnoitra Jiruga, then?"

"About Nnoitra…"

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"Unfortunately so."

"…"

"That's okay. We were going to execute him, anyway."

"Eh? What for?"

"We will explain on the way to your student's stronghold. Come, Idiot Wizard. You too, Starrk."

"Aww, but I'm _tired_."

…

Ulquiorra fell back and caught himself on one hand, flipping upright in time to block a swing from Aizen's sword. It was just as he thought. The man was merely messing with him, striking out in his own leisurely way while using magic to distract him. Once he had grabbed Ulquiorra by the wing and thrown him into the fortress, solidifying the walls so that his body _wouldn't _go through them. The impact had been excruciating to say the least.

"Still being stubborn," Aizen said, increasing the speed of his movements until he managed to knock Ulquiorra's blade away. He almost got a swipe at him, but the former Espada was fast, disappearing in a blur. The warlock looked up in time to see a leg come swinging down on the back of his head, propelling him forward.

Ulquiorra righted himself in midair, seeking out his sword. _There_. It was standing upright in the snow a few feet away. He flew towards it, but the blade suddenly jumped out of the drift and began attacking him, forcing him back. He saw Aizen manipulating it with an easy wave of his hand.

"Come now, Ulquiorra, do you really think you stand a chance against someone as powerful as I?" the warlock questioned airily.

"At the very least," Ulquiorra said, "I can keep you away from the others."

Aizen smirked and stopped the sword. "What, are they your friends now? Your precious _nakama_, as the idiots in the East would say?"

Seeing that his attack had relented, Ulquiorra allowed himself a moment to relax as well. "Why does Lord Aizen wish to know?"

The warlock shrugged. "I am a curious man; that is all."

"Curious, yes, but you should know the answer better than I do." Ulquiorra glanced at his sword, which was still poised to strike him, but didn't seem all that keen on moving. "How can a heartless being have friends? How can I place value in anything? How…" he averted his gaze. "How can I love anyone?"

With the snow falling fast around them, the howl of the wind and the explosions from the battle nearby, he didn't notice that Aizen had disappeared before it was too late. The warlock now stood in front of him, a gentle, almost fatherly smile on his face. "Allow me to show you."

Ulquiorra felt the freezing steel of Aizen's blade pierce the skin of his chest, felt it drive into his very core and come out through his back, felt the numbing pain that followed…

…and something else. There was a violent shudder in his ribcage, something buried deep within that gave an involuntary spasm when the sharp point of the sword passed within inches of it.

"Ah," Aizen let out a gasp of feigned surprise and leaned forward. "It would appear," he whispered to Ulquiorra, "that you've had a heart all along."

The sword was pulled from his body. He collapsed onto his knees, green eyes wide, panting hard as blood seeped from the open wound, dripping onto the snow beneath him. It couldn't be… it was a lie… No, it wasn't. He brought a hand up to stop the bleeding, feeling the organ within giving several nervous spasms. It was, indeed, a heart; one that he had never felt before. But it had been there all along?

Aizen wiped his sword in the snow. "How pathetic," he murmured, "that your loyalty should reach such an extent."

Ulquiorra looked up towards the top of the tower, where the woman was sure to be dealing with the hougyoku. He felt the heart, _his _heart lurch. The battle was over. He had lost.

It was all up to her now.

Meanwhile, Orihime had not found an instruction manual anywhere. Her desperation was growing. Why wouldn't the Six-Petal flowers respond to her? She stared at the glowing hougyoku, frustrated. "Come on," she whispered, her fists clenching at her sides. "This thing is threatening Oz, threatening my friends, threatening everything and everyone that I've come to love, that I gave up the chance to go home for… and I can't do anything."

All she had to do was reject the jewel's existence. It couldn't be that hard, could it? "I refuse," she growled, "to believe that I've come all this way to be useless." Her gray eyes centered on the hougyoku. "I refuse to believe that this whole world is depending on me, and that I'm just going to let them down. I _won't_."

Her anger must have been getting the better of her; she was starting to feel warm around the temples.

"I won't let Aizen win," she declared, and the petals of the hair clips scattered, startling her as they surrounded the hougyoku. So that was it, huh? A rejection of events. She'd rejected the notion of Yoruichi dying the first time her power had activated, rejected Ulquiorra and Grimmjow's injuries the second time. And now she was rejecting Aizen's victory, her own uselessness, the destruction of Oz.

The hougyoku grew even brighter as the petals began to work their magic on it. "Yeah," she whispered, gaining encouragement. "I won't let Aizen win. I won't let my friends be hurt. I won't let this thing continue to exist."

But despite all of the willpower she had already put into her effort, nothing seemed to be happening. The hougyoku looked annoyed, its brilliant colors swirling and changing more rapidly. The flower petals were pouring magic over it and putting on a fantastic light show, illuminating the entire stony chamber. Still, the offending gem remained intact. Orihime closed her eyes. "Come on, break!" she cried, getting a hold of what she suspected to be her own magical energy and sending it into the petals with all of her might. "_Break_!"

This had to work. She was the Promised Child. Everyone was counting on her. It all came down to this moment, to her and the flowers and what little strength she possessed, with all the faith in the world. "Please, _break_!"

And with a burst of electrifying energy, something _did _break.

The Six-Petal flowers let off an intense light, then burst, descending to the stone floor in tiny clouds of blue powder.

…

The Emerald City was in ruins, with Yammy's corpse strewn across the yellow brick road like a chunky drape. Kisuke, with Coyote Starrk and Tia Harribel on either side of him, was headed towards the battleground on a conjured cloud much like Rukia's. Half of Oz's forces were fighting outside of Aizen's stronghold while the rest were inside, making their way through the icy fortress.

For the most part, it seemed that the good guys had the upper hand. Their city was destroyed, but they had the enemy on the run. The battle would be over soon.

But the two key players, the pair that the entire world was counting on, were currently staring defeat in the face.

Ulquiorra, struggling to breathe through his pain, kneeled in the snow as Warlock Aizen walked circles around him. "You know," he clasped his hands together, "you were my greatest experiment, Ulquiorra. Whether I can call it a success or a failure, well, I'm having a hard time deciding."

The former Espada did not respond, concentrating on his breathing, on the throbbing in his chest.

"Before you were created, I decided that I would conduct a little experiment, you see." Aizen continued, looking up at the driving snow. "When you came into being, one of the first things that I told you was that you lacked a heart. You remember that, don't you? I said that hearts were useless; that they made one weak, stupid, reckless, cowardly." He paused. "And you believed me."

Ulquiorra's eyes closed. Breathe in, breathe out.

"You did not so much as question my words. Astonishing, really. You were so loyal to me that you accepted your heartlessness and moved on, to the point where the heart that you _did _have either wasn't perceived by you, or… well, no. That was my doing." Aizen stopped in front of him and unclasped his hands. "I made it so that your body could survive on very _few_ heartbeats. If you ever did feel it – and I'm talking once every two days or so – you probably passed it off as indigestion or something." He pointed his wand-turned-sword at Ulquiorra. "Do you see now why I can't decide whether I failed or not? You were utterly convinced of your own heartlessness… that is, until the Promised Child came along."

Ulquiorra coughed up blood.

"It would seem that, in growing attached to the girl, your heart began to stir without you realizing it," the warlock continued, staring at his opponent with a mixture of boredom and contempt. "Hence, your confusion, I'm sure. You suddenly began to experience emotions that you had long since thought yourself incapable of… _if _you are in love with the girl, as I believe that you are." A cold smile reached his lips. "It is a pity that you'll never see her again."

Far up above them, the girl in question stood frozen, her eyes wide. Had she just…? No, it wasn't possible. But there was the hougyoku, no worse than it had been minutes ago, and there were the remains of the Six-Petal flowers at her feet. She dropped to her knees and stared at the blue powder, paralyzed by cold and shock.

It was over.

She had come so far, and she'd failed. "No," she whispered in disbelief, her eyes seeking out the hougyoku again. "It _can't_ be."

What about the prophecy? Was she not the Promised Child after all? But everyone had been so sure! She was the only person who had gotten the Six-Petal flowers to work, and now they were gone! There was no hope of destroying the hougyoku without them. The war was over, and Aizen had won.

Everyone was going to die.

Out in the snowstorm, Ulquiorra was at the mercy of Aizen's blade, which he felt press against his neck, the cold steel causing a shiver to run through him. Then it lifted, and the warlock poised to take his head off with one clean slice. "Now then, let's not waste anymore time." He tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword. "Goodbye."

Ulquiorra, with his hand keeping pressure on his chest's open wound, his eyes half-lidded and glazed over from pain, and virtually no strength left to protect himself, watched the glint of the steel as it began its descent…

And then it came to an abrupt halt.

He and Orihime lifted their heads simultaneously. In the fortress's innermost chamber, the hougyoku let off a magical pulse. A loud _crack _caused Orihime to flinch. A jagged line appeared atop the jewel, followed by several more audible snaps as the fissure grew wider, snaking around its surface until the whole gem was covered in a fine web. And just when she thought that it would stop there, the hougyoku exploded.

Aizen eyes widened. His spine arched, his face directed to the snowy sky above. "No," he whispered as a network of cracks began appearing on his own skin.

From the top of the fortress came a wave of magical energy that knocked everyone – Aizen's and Oz's soldiers alike – onto the ground, followed by beams of light flying out in all directions like firecrackers, whistling sharply as they passed. The warlock let out an inhuman howl as his body crumbled, wand and all, Ulquiorra's sword dropping into the snow where Aizen had once stood.

Magic continued to be expelled into the atmosphere. One beam of light followed the length of the building, rocketing towards the snow, circling the injured Gin before slamming into Rangiku's chest, tearing a gasp from her throat. As the two of them watched, a long cloak appeared over her shoulders, bearing a magical insignia circled by the emblems of all of Oz's southern countries.

Gin did his best to sit up. "R-Rangiku, your powers…"

The strawberry blond reached straight into her cleavage and withdrew a sleek silver wand. "It's been fifteen years… can't believe I was so young when that man took them from me." She leaned over and poked Gin's bandaged abdomen once. With a slightly uncomfortable stretching of skin, the wound closed completely, and he sighed with relief.

"Looks like the South will be gettin' its Good Witch back, huh?"

Rangiku helped pull him to his feet with a broad smile. "You know it."

For a moment, the forces of Oz stood dumbfounded in the ensuing silence. If all the magic of the hougyoku had been released, then that meant that it had been destroyed, which in turn meant that Aizen was dead. The enemy had been defeated. The war had been won.

Finally, a loud cheer went up among the soldiers. They hugged each other, they danced in circles, they dove into the drifts and made snow angels. Renji found Rukia and threw his arms around her, lifting her clear off of the ground. Hitsugaya, hardly in the mood to celebrate, left the fortress and ran to where Momo was being watched over. Kenpachi cackled victoriously, frightening nearby soldiers. Yoruichi and Byakuya smiled at each other. Nel tackled Grimmjow into the snow, crying out that they were free at last, that Orihime had saved them all.

And Orihime herself was feeling pretty good, sitting on the floor of the hougyoku chamber with a huge grin on her face. It was silly, but she found herself so excited, so happy that she'd been able to fulfill the prophecy and save Oz that she couldn't jump up and make a fool of herself dancing like the others down below. She was anxious to see them, to get back to Ulquiorra. Where was he, anyway? She figured that she would meet him on the way back and laughingly got to her feet, though her legs shook from a combination of stress, relief and joy.

Wait, those weren't her legs shaking.

Both her happiness and her blood drained from her face as a loud groan filled the air and the tower began to lean to one side. It couldn't be that the fortress was held together by Aizen's magic, could it? Had he really been such a lazy warlock? But her fears were confirmed when, taking another step, her foot went through the previously solid floor. She gasped and quickly pulled it back.

Down below, the celebrating soldiers quickly realized that the foreign sound they were hearing was coming from Aizen's fortress. When Yoruichi saw icicles falling from the top of the tower, her fears were confirmed. "It's collapsing!" she yelled, her voice not carrying far in the snow. "Everyone, get out of here! _Run_!"

Luckily, Rukia was close enough to hear, and she immediately began working on a transportation spell. But as more and more soldiers began pouring from the fortress, struggling through the deep snow, she saw that she wouldn't be able to save them all. "Damn it!"

"Need help?"

She turned and was surprised to find Rangiku Matsumoto dressed in a witch's cloak, a grin on her lovely face. Rukia exchanged her surprise in favor of relief. "Yeah," she said, "let's do this."

On the other side of the falling fortress, Ulquiorra was climbing to his feet unsteadily, still clutching at his wound. He could sense the magic holding the place together coming undone. Orihime was in there; she would never make it down the stairs in time. And so he gathered up his strength, summoned his wings and took off at full speed, dodging heavy stones and sharp icicles and enormous piles of falling snow. He flew through an opening in the wall, pushing himself to the full extent of his remaining power.

Orihime was starting to lose hope. She wouldn't be able to run down all of those icy steps without slipping and killing herself in the process, and leaping into the snow certainly wasn't an option. They were still on a mountain, after all. Gravity would do its work and impale her on a sharp rock somewhere below, she was sure of it. Her back pressed into the wall, but that came apart as well, taking the floor beneath her with it. She began to fall.

This was it. If hitting the ground didn't kill her, then the sharp icicles falling towards her certainly would. Her ears filled with a deafening roar from the wind and the chaos surrounding her. She waved her arm forward, hoping to catch onto something, _anything _to slow her down, but the motion only sent her head over heels, until she was facing her demise.

And that was when she saw him. Through the darkness of the abyss, his wide green eyes were visible, his form emerging from the murkiness below.

Orihime stopped worrying about what was happening around her. She forgot the collapsing castle, the ground coming up to meet her, the war and last few stressful weeks and her worried brother back on Earth. Her mind cast everything aside as her arms opened wide, and through happy tears she saw Ulquiorra freeze in midair, reaching out for her.

She fell straight into his arms.

Then the moment of confusion began. Her momentum sent him tumbling through the chasm. She saw one of his wings stretch out to redirect them, but the stairway wasn't wide enough to accommodate it. That was the first impact, the one that had them crashing through the wall and into the swirling snow. There was a second one shortly after, and Orihime thought that they might have been hit by debris. Either way, they were falling too fast. She lost her sense of direction. Memories of the tornado that had brought her to Oz flooded her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut, holding onto Ulquiorra for dear life.

The third impact, more powerful than that of her convertible landing on top of Nnoitra, knocked the consciousness from her body and sent her into an abyss of her own.

…

Aizen's fortress had been reduced to smoking wreckage. Worse still, the noise and the chaos had triggered an avalanche that had flooded the so-called safe area that Rangiku and Rukia had transported everyone to. Now they found themselves fishing soldiers out of the snow, glad to find that they were a little bruised, but fine otherwise.

Grimmjow was shaking melted snow off of his limbs, sniffing disdainfully. "I hate the cold," he grumbled miserably.

"Not me!" Nel threw her arms around his neck. "Besides, our bodies are indifferent to temperature."

"Well I hate this weather." He continued to sulk, though his cheeks reddened at her proximity.

Stunned and bewildered soldiers emerged from deep drifts like walking plants, stumbling around to help those who were stuck. General Kenpachi, being the largest among them, plucked fallen men and women from the snow effortlessly. Worried that General Hitsugaya would not be found – as short as he was, and having white hair that blended in perfectly with the background – he searched especially hard for the boy, only to find him sitting on a rock at a distance with Momo resting on his lap, steadily dropping medicine through her parted lips.

"Hey," Hitsugaya spoke to her gently when he saw her face scrunch up at the bitter taste. "How are you feeling?"

Momo's eyes fluttered open. She turned her head towards him, her cheeks rosy from the cold. "The Promised Child… where is she?"

General Hitsugaya felt a chill run down his spine. He looked around the snow-flooded ravine. There was Renji's red hair, and Matsumoto's blond tresses, and even the green and blue of the two ex-Espada who had fought alongside them. No auburn.

It didn't take long for the others to sense Orihime's absence. The acting Generals, the two witches, the ex-Espada and Gin gathered together, noticeably panicked. That was when Gin pointed them towards what was left of Aizen's stronghold. "She was headed towards the hougyoku chamber, but she couldn't have had time to get out."

Yoruichi, her face pale, ran towards the wreckage without another word. "I'll go with her," Rukia offered, taking off on a conjured cloud.

"Us too," Grimmjow took Nel's hand and the two of them disappeared into the snow.

The rest stayed behind, stewing silently in their sorrow. No one wanted to believe that, after all she had been put through – unwillingly, for the most part – Orihime was lying dead somewhere in the ruins of Aizen's fortress. But looking back on it, there really was no way that she could have made it out on her own. It was too early to grieve for her, and yet they held no hopes of her being found alive. It would take nothing short of a miracle for Orihime Inoue to have survived the collapse of the warlock's base.

…

For the second time of that long, long day, Orihime woke up cold. As soon as her eyes were open, she saw why: she was face-down in a snow drift, wearing nothing but the same party dress that she had been kidnapped in, guaranteed to keep her feeling fresh in tropical climates, not warm in the winter.

How long had she been laying there? She was shivering; definitely a good sign. She wouldn't freeze to death yet. And where was she, anyway? Aside from the howl of the wind and falling snow, it was eerily quiet. The fortress must have finished collapsing… ah, yeah. Squinting through the blinding flakes, she saw a column of smoke rising from the wreckage. They hadn't gone far.

Her entire body ached. How she had even managed to pull herself up was beyond her. Perhaps she shouldn't have been moving, in case something was broken? She flexed her fingers and toes, saw them wiggle and felt reassured. At least she wasn't paralyzed. And her neck felt alright. In fact, aside from some random bruises and pains, and the fact that her dress and skin were covered in blood, she was completely uninjured.

So where had the blood come from? She checked herself for cuts and gashes and found… a small one on her leg. But there was far too much blood for it to have been caused by such a tiny wound.

"…"

What was that?

"…_hime…!"_

Oh! It was Yoruichi-san! She could tell that the woman was at quite a distance, judging by the sound of her voice, but she scrambled to her feet and cupped her hands around her mouth. "_Over here!_" she yelled in response, hoping that her words would carry over the snowstorm.

But standing had brought Orihime a better view of her surroundings, and her hopeful smile faded at what she saw around her. The snow was disturbed a few feet away, as if someone had pushed something across its surface, and she noticed more blood smeared across the ground, crimson red against fluffy white. She approached the area cautiously, but nearly lost her footing anyway, and cried out in alarm as she staggered back from a cliff that had been hidden by the storm.

Staring out across the valley below, she saw that it sloped downwards, straight into the clouds, perhaps leading directly off of the mountain. But halfway to the next cliff and the one that she stood on, her eyes caught sight of a black lump half-buried in the snow. "Ulquiorra-san!" she whispered fearfully, wasting no time in finding a safe way down the rocky cliff.

Once on stable ground, she began running towards him, but soon slowed to faltering steps, her mouth dropping open. It was him, alright. One black wing was twisted at an unnatural angle, the other practically torn in two. A trail of blood marked the places that his momentum had thrown him to, carrying him much farther than where she'd fallen. Orihime lifted a hand to her mouth, being extra careful not to step on either of the limp wings in the snow, and dropped down next to his head. "U-Ulquiorra-s-san…"

He didn't respond. His black hair covered most of his face, and Orihime saw now where the blood was coming from: he had a deep wound in his chest, which rose and fell slowly. She whimpered and thought to move him, then decided not to. What if he'd sprained something, broken his spine? She might have ended up paralyzing him. "Ulquiorra-san?" she whispered.

This time, movement. His eyes came open, and he turned his head to face her, staring up at her through half-closed lids. "Y-Yes…"

"You're alive," Orihime breathed, smiling through the tears that had spilled over her cheeks. Gathering up another lung full of air, she called out to Yoruichi or whoever might be listening, then grabbed the edge of her dress and began pulling until it tore. The fact that it was damp from the snow made it much harder to do, but her adrenaline must have given her a boost of superhuman strength; she managed to get a decent sized chunk from the bottom, which she then pushed against Ulquiorra's bleeding wound. "D-Don't worry, Ulquiorra-san," she lifted his head onto her lap, "help is on the way. You're going to be fine."

He contemplated her silently, feeling her heart beat through her skin. His own heart beat lethargically in reply. It was so cold. Wasn't she cold? He took in her bruised body, covered in his blood, and the tears that rolled down her cheeks as she wept. Why was she crying? There was no reason to be sad. The war was over, Aizen was gone, Oz and its inhabitants were safe.

Unless… unless she was crying for _him_…

He wanted to understand her, right? Now was his chance to ask. "Wo…" he spoke quietly, effectively stopping her small, hiccupping sobs. "Woman… w-why," He swallowed a near mouthful of blood. "Why… do you shed tears… for your enemy?"

Orihime shook her head repeatedly, taking in a deep breath. "You and I a-aren't enemies, Ulquiorra-san," she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut. "We aren't." She could hear the voices getting closer now, but they were still so far away from them.

Her body jolted in surprise, eyes coming open at the touch of something cold on her face. It was his hand; Ulquiorra was wiping her tears. And suddenly she remembered the night that she had slapped him, which seemed like so long ago to her. Is that what he had been trying to do then? Had he reached out to dry her tears, only to have his gesture misinterpreted? The notion only made her cry harder.

Ulquiorra sighed. It seemed that there would be no end to this flood. But he felt too weak to keep his arm up anyway, and had it not been for her seizing it within her own, his hand would have dropped back to his side.

He hoped, at least, that through such a simple act she would somehow understand everything that he wanted to tell her, but simply had no strength to: that there _was_ a heart beating in his chest, a heart that she had been able to see when no one, not even himself, had. And it was funny, because before he'd met her, he had never hoped for anything. Maybe Aizen had been right after all… perhaps he really was… in…

Orihime felt Ulquiorra's grip on her hand loosen, and she knew that she shouldn't have looked… she _knew _it, but she did anyway.

And the whimper bubbling up in her throat became an anguished cry, a sound almost as inhuman as the warlock's dying howl. She folded in on herself, her forehead touching his, tears dropping from her lashes to his cheeks. Her whole body shook with each sob. A pain like she had never known gripped her heart, threatening to suffocate it. She let go of his hand, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him towards her chest, willing him to live again.

"I reject…" she whispered, though the Six-Petal flowers were nothing but dust in the wind. "I reject…!" She held him tighter, drawing in a lungful of air. "_I reject!_" she shrieked into the tempest, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

This was how Yoruichi and Rukia found her minutes later. And though neither of them knew what had transpired between the Promised Child and the Fourth Espada, they had enough sense to drop to their knees next to her and put their arms around her shoulders. They didn't attempt to soothe her; both of them had experienced and understood loss in their lifetimes. They knew that no matter what they tried to say to her, the girl's heart was broken beyond repair, a void left behind that nobody would ever quite be able to fill. All they could do was keep her warm, keep her company as she held onto Ulquiorra, refusing to let him go.

But death could not be undone, not by anyone's magic. Not even her own.

**To Be Continued**


	23. Twisted Nerve

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, The Wizard of Oz, or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**Twisted Nerve**

In the days following the final battle, Orihime suffered from a terrible flu due to her exposure to the elements. She spent that time bedridden, tossing and turning fitfully as a high fever kept her slipping in and out of consciousness. It was absolutely miserable.

The fever produced many strange dreams; dreams of driving through the desert in her cherry red convertible, of vicious tornados dumping her in munchkin villages, of dark forests and snowy mountains, of storming fortresses with a savage war cry.

But above all else, she dreamt of flying. She never knew where she was going, not that it mattered. Perhaps she was looking for something up there among the stars and the clouds, something that she never found, no matter how desperately she searched. She flew around the entire globe and always came up empty. Then she'd be in the snow again, then flying through the storm, tumbling through the air, plummeting into the darkness.

When her eyes opened on the fourth day, her fever finally broken, she buried her face in her pillow and cried.

…

The Emerald Castle had been reconstructed by the Great Wizard with one wave of his wand, newer and greener than ever. From there he addressed the people of Oz, sharing the good news with the world: Warlock Aizen was dead. Businesses were closed as joyful citizens flooded the streets in cities all over Oz, sending their gratitude to the brave soldiers and Orihime as well.

It was decided that the fifth day after the Battle of Mount Oz, as it would later be called, would be reserved to honor everyone who had died throughout the course of the war. And there were many casualties, Orihime learned; tens of thousands had given their lives in the attempt to stop Aizen before she had come along, and still more had departed in her presence. Yammy's attack on the Emerald City the night of her disappearance had killed hundreds. Fights against the other Espada members had reported a heavy number of victims as well, both military and civilian. There were cases in which entire towns had been wiped out for no apparent reason.

Orihime was lucky to have had Ulquiorra to protect her.

Funerals were held the world over, communities coming together to mourn their dead. In Lakeside, the inhabitants of the city joined the Shiba family in honoring Sorcerer Kaien. On the coasts of Oz's great oceans, small boats full of flowers and candles were set adrift for the sailors who had given their lives to protect their ports. For that day, the colorful citizens of Oz donned black and gray from head to toe – the cheerful munchkins included – and hardly a smile could be found on anyone's face. Memorials were constructed at every battle site, no matter how small.

Eventually, some began to whisper questions: What had happened to the Promised Child? Why hadn't they heard from her now that Aizen was gone? Was she still in Oz, or had she returned to her land of origin?

Of course, Orihime was still there, passing through as if she had become a ghost herself. On that fifth day, she joined Kisuke, Grimmjow, Yoruichi and Nel on a trip into the mountains, where on the peak that had once housed Aizen's fortress there now stood nothing but a snow-covered memorial. Starrk and Tia were already there, their faces grim, the blond woman carrying a wrapped bundle in her arms.

"Finished already?" Kisuke asked as the two warriors approached them, wrapped in scarves and heavy coats.

Tia nodded solemnly. "We were hoping to salvage some kind of evidence that would confirm that…" she trailed off, glancing at Orihime, who stared sullenly at the snow. "To confirm that he wasn't…" The auburn-haired girl winced. Tia pursed her lips. "Unfortunately," she stepped forward and presented the bundle to Orihime, "this was all we found."

Yoruichi immediately put a comforting arm around her best friend's shoulder as the girl slowly unwrapped the bundle. It was Ulquiorra's sword, properly sheathed and looking relatively undamaged. She grasped the hilt and pulled, staring at her muddled reflection on the blade, seeing the tears in her eyes before they hit the steel. "There's no chance, then… that he was…"

Starrk shook his head. "When he left the Royal Guard, he dropped off the face of the planet. None of us ever heard from him again." He kicked at the snow, averting his gaze and wishing that he didn't have to be the pessimist. "For Aizen to have his sword, well, it's the easiest explanation for where he'd gone."

"And he had us, right?" Nel glanced at the two uncertainly. "Grimmjow, Nnoitra and I; we were the original Royal Guard members too?"

Tia smiled sadly. "That's right." She sighed. "Nnoitra's attitude had gone from bad to worse since you were promoted to a rank above his. We didn't think it would get to the point where he would band together with Aizen, though. It seemed that the warlock tampered with all three of your bodies once he got a hold of you, which is why neither of you remember being part of the Royal Guard."

Grimmjow let out a growl. "Good thing they're both dead. Had I gotten my hands on either of them, I'd…" He found that he couldn't complete his sentence; not when they had seen enough violence already; not when Orihime was standing there, clutching Ulquiorra's sword as if it were the only thing keeping her tethered to the ground.

"So it is because of Nnoitra that we were captured and turned into inhuman beings." Nel stared at her own hands, powerful enough to bring down a building.

"Yes." Tia glared at Kisuke. "And as for the others…"

"It was my fault." The Great Wizard lowered his head. "The former King and Queen commissioned me to design clones of the Royal Guard, should something ever happen to the others, or should we ever encounter an enemy that I myself could not handle alone. But I didn't keep those, or the plans for the hougyoku, under lock and key."

"I told him he should have," Yoruichi grumbled, rubbing Orihime's arm.

"I thought that creating such an item would make the magical world a safer place. The leading cause of death among magicians is a misplaced wand, after all. If they didn't need their wands, if they could just channel their magical energy through their own bodies, it would lead to fewer accidents." Kisuke shrugged. "Lesson learned."

Orihime stood trembling beneath her coat. Even the most powerful people in the world made such mistakes. She turned her head, seeking out the memorial protruding from the snow. It had been decorated with enchanted flowers, which would not wilt for several days, no matter how cold it became during the night. "Harribel-san," her voice drew the tall woman's attention, "thank you so much for…" she trailed off, gesturing towards the sword in her hands.

"It is a custom among the Royal Guard," Tia said, "that when one of us is lost, our weapons shall be passed on to those closest to us. In most cases, families and lovers, but Ulquiorra had neither."

Orihime nodded once. "I really appreciate it," she inhaled deeply, "but I can't accept this." Her hands shook as she left Yoruichi's embrace and walked past the group, staring out at the cliff that overlooked the world that she had helped save. "I have no place here in Oz. I couldn't keep Ulquiorra-san's sword safe, and besides, it would be too sad." She closed her eyes, remembering his hand on her cheek, wiping her tears. "A-And I don't think he wants me to be sad."

She forced a smile and faced her friends, ignoring their worried expressions. "Please," she held the sword out in front of her, "take this back to the Royal City with you, where it belongs."

"Are you sure, Orihime?" Nel asked gently.

"Yes." She wouldn't let her smile falter anymore. She would be happy, even if it killed her.

The sword was passed to Starrk and the group departed, taking it slow so that their bodies could get adjusted to the temperature and altitude changes. They were surprised when, on their way down the mountain, the clouds broke and the sun touched the area for the first time in months. The spell that Aizen had cast to keep the perpetual storm obscuring everyone's view of his fortress had finally worn off, and from a picturesque ridge, Orihime saw the entire Spindle region laid out before her, with the Emerald City on one side and the shimmer of Lakeside's waterfront on the other.

At least she could take comfort in the fact that all of those people, and those in places that her eyes could not see, were safe.

…

In the second week of Oz's new era, reconstruction was well underway. Cities destroyed by Aizen were cleared away so that the land could recover. Polluted waters were cleaned. The rest of the warlock's subordinates were captured and jailed. All available magicians were enlisted to help in the recovery effort.

But despite the peace, not everyone was happy, or satisfied with the way that things had been handled. Oz newspapers told stories of families who had lost loved ones demanding compensation from the government – who would bring in the money to pay the bills now? Didn't their suffering matter?

Some refused to turn to their government, which they claimed was corrupt. Aizen had been trained by Kisuke, after all. Shouldn't the Great Wizard of Oz have been able to see that the man was dangerous and ended him before he had wreaked so much havoc? Perhaps the whole war had been a conspiracy, a way for the new King and Queen to bully the people who called them cowards. They had raised up a powerful opponent and killed thousands just to show that the people of Oz _had _to rely on them.

Maybe, they said, the whole prophecy was a load of bull as well. The so-called Promised Child, they claimed, was probably just a well paid actress from a small town that had been destroyed by the government to keep their plan quiet. The reason that she hadn't come out to speak on the matter of the war was because she was bathing in money somewhere, basking in the praise of the simpletons who couldn't see through the government's plot.

And the Royal Guard members who lost their lives, they claimed, had been killed because they had known too much.

There was an enormous effort made in the Emerald Castle to keep Orihime from hearing these scathing remarks, but with protestors gathering at the gates with signs and megaphones to make _sure _that she heard them, it was unavoidable.

"Let me take care of them!" Grimmjow snarled one afternoon, finally having lost his patience. But before he could even think of running out to throw the protestors around, Kisuke conjured a rope and hog-tied him with it, depositing him on Nel's lap.

"Give him some cat nip, will you?" The tired wizard rubbed his temples. Currently he, Grimmjow, Nel, Orihime, Yoruichi, Gin and Rangiku sat in one of the castle's lounging areas. It was one of the few places within the structure that the commotion couldn't be heard in.

Orihime, who looked weaker than ever – but still managed to keep a smile plastered to her face – turned her attention on the visiting pair. "So, Rangiku-san, it turns out that you were a witch after all?"

She nodded, trying not to let the worry for her friend show through her demeanor. Gin decided to speak on her behalf. "I was orphaned when I was pretty young, and in my wanderin' I eventually met Ran. We were only seven years old, but she had already been declared the Good Witch of the South, and was undergoin' some intense trainin' as an apprentice to get her power up to par. I stayed with her and her teacher, learned some magic myself, but it was when Master and I were away that the town was attacked by Aizen."

"He was still learning under Urahara back then, still developing the hougyoku that he had stolen. But in order to keep it from becoming too unstable, he had to feed it the powers of other magicians." Rangiku shook her head. "He drained me completely."

"Master told us that perhaps the Great Wizard would be able to get Rangiku her powers back, so we came here to the Emerald City."

"Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do," Kisuke added. "It was as if she had been born with no magical potential at all."

Gin took Rangiku's hand in his. "We decided that we would do whatever it took to stop Aizen. I became one of the wizard's apprentices and won the warlock's trust on the side. When I found out that he was eventually plannin' to declare war, I told Ran, and she enlisted in the military. Spent the rest of my time tryin' to find another way to destroy the hougyoku, but…"

"It seemed that only the Promised Child would be able to do that," Rangiku finished for him. "And by then it was too late for him to get out of Aizen's good graces, so he became a double agent during the war."

"And now I've got this nifty battle scar!" Gin lifted his shirt and pointed to the line across his abdomen.

Orihime actually laughed, a sound that lifted the hopes of the others. "That's very sweet, Gin-san. And I'm so happy that I was able to help you get your powers back, Rangiku-chan." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "How did General Hitsugaya take the news?"

"Oh, he was pretty surprised, but wouldn't apologize for yelling at me in the past, so I told him I'd never help him get taller," Rangiku cackled spitefully.

Nel giggled from where she sat, petting a sleepy-looking Grimmjow's hair. "Are you sure you're a Good Witch, Rangiku?"

"Of course! Wicked Witches get these awful warts on their faces, and I rather enjoy this flawless complexion of mine."

"Ain't she shallow?" Gin slung his arm over her, but she frowned and brushed it aside, turning away from him with a pout.

Orihime lay back against the couch, watching the arguments and pleas unfold. She was grateful for the piece of peace, glad that she was able to relax within the castle walls. It had been a trying number of days, what with the politics, the protests, and the animosity being thrown in her direction. She knew that it was one of those rubber-and-glue situations, that she didn't have to pay attention to what they were saying because she knew that it wasn't true. Besides, it was the monarchy's job to attend to the people.

But couldn't she have done _something_? She was being told not to worry, that her part in Oz's history was over, that she should focus on her own emotional well-being.

And Orihime _had_ been trying to get back to normal. The other day she'd helped with menial tasks around the Emerald Castle, she'd listened to her iPod and danced a bit. And then she'd tried to go outside for a walk in the garden, where the memory of her short waltz with Ulquiorra had unraveled all of her progress. Nel had discovered her crying mess of a self an hour later and had promptly dragged her back inside.

Orihime had thought long and hard about what she should do next, and all arrows were beginning to point in the same direction. She wouldn't be able to adjust to life in Oz, being such a controversial public figure and a foreigner to begin with. Her friends had their own lives to get back to; they couldn't take care of her forever.

And on Earth, she still had a beloved brother and friends who were probably in states of grief similar to her own, thinking that she was dead. She had history there, and didn't have to worry about being recognized by anyone, particularly in America. The University of Phoenix might have still been waiting for her. A whole future lay ahead of her, a blank slate that she could fill with whatever she chose.

Yes… even as she looked around the lounge, taking in the weary faces of the people who had brought her this far, she knew without a doubt that she couldn't stay here.

She had to go home.

…

"You know, I'm surprised," Yoruichi was startled by Kisuke's voice as she stood in the viewing chamber that night, admiring the sparkling city below. Turning to face the wizard, who approached her with arms tucked into his sleeves, she rested her elbows on the windowsill. "I thought you would have gone back already. Isn't General Kuchiki waiting for you?"

Yoruichi smiled. "I'm sure that he's getting the war hero treatment and barely misses me. Didn't want to step in the middle of all that and set the town aflame with scandal."

"Right, you're a runaway princess. I keep forgetting."

"I'm not a princess."

Kisuke stood next to her, looking out over his city, bathed in moonlight. After a brief shared silence, he sighed. "I won't pretend that your decision doesn't have me heartbroken, but I suppose this is what all those women that I played with felt like when I jilted them."

Yoruichi tapped her foot against the wall. "Something like that."

"Although – and you'll have to forgive me for this, which I'm sure that you won't – I couldn't help snooping in the mail yesterday." Kisuke's gaze landed on her back. "You sent him a letter." Silence. "You're not going back, are you?"

Yoruichi cleared her throat, but her voice still wobbled. "I haven't decided yet."

The wizard placed his chin on his upturned palm. "You never change, Yoruichi Shihoin," he declared almost sadly. "You're as fickle and temporary as the wind, but I can't say that I don't love you for it." He smiled out at the city. "General Kuchiki and I can fight each other all we want, but in the end, you will always be the opponent that we can never hope to defeat."

There was a soft knock on the door and both of them pulled away from the window, Yoruichi hastily wiping her cheeks. "Come in," Kisuke called out.

A moment later the door opened with a soft _click_ and a pajama-clad Orihime entered. She closed it behind her and stepped further into the room with a sheepish smile. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You weren't interrupting anything, Hime," Yoruichi reassured her. "What's up?"

The young woman stared at the floor, wringing her hands nervously. "I…" She faltered a bit, but pressed onwards. "I've been thinking about my wish, Urahara-san."

Kisuke nodded encouragingly. "Yes, the one that you delayed. Will you be amending it?"

Orihime shook her head. "No… my wish stays the same." She looked up at them, and they both saw the fatigue, the sorrow, the stress that she had been trying to hide for the past two weeks, clear as day on her face. Compared to the cheerful girl that Yoruichi had walked the yellow brick road with, this Orihime was a shadow. "I want," she closed her eyes, "I _need _to go home."

And neither of them argued, because they couldn't have agreed more.

…

Orihime wasn't the only one returning to her rightful place that day. On the sunny afternoon that everyone gathered outside of the Emerald Castle, Starrk and Tia were also due back at the Royal City, and waited impatiently while the Great Wizard prepared the spell that would open the way. Meanwhile, Rukia and Renji, Rangiku and Gin, and even Kukaku Shiba had turned up to say their goodbyes to Orihime. Nel had been bawling since she'd heard the news, clinging to her best friend's leg with a vice-like grip as if she were still in munchkin form, while Grimmjow stood off to the side, pretending not to be sad.

"Okay, everybody step back!" Kisuke yelled suddenly, waving them towards the castle gates. "Back, I say! We don't want there to be any mishaps!"

"Finally," Tia muttered, and Starrk let out a yawn, patting Ulquiorra's sword to make sure that it was still safely strapped to his waste.

Using magic, Urahara lifted himself up onto the castle's highest spire and began writing a whole paragraph of magical symbols with his wand. The moment he had finished, lightning struck much the same as it had the night that the legendary warriors had first appeared. A thunderous boom shook the ground, the air behind the castle rippling faster and faster until it began to pull away, revealing a nighttime scene framed by a circle of magical energy.

But despite the darkness within, Orihime could see that the yellow brick road continued inside, and in the distance there shone the bright lights of a metropolis much larger than the Emerald City. "Wow," she breathed as Starrk and Tia stepped forward, complaining about the gate's location _behind_ the castle.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Yoruichi smiled at her. "When we're asked, we like to tell people that the Royal City is somewhere over the rainbow, since, y'know, rainbows can't be caught."

Orihime looked at Grimmjow and the sniffling Nel. "You aren't going with them?"

"Nah," Grimmjow muttered, trying not to look impressed by the flashy departure of his former comrades. "We're retired."

Once the two had gone through the gate and waved over their shoulders, the magic circle shrank, closing in on the beautiful, brilliant city. Many bystanders had gathered outside of the castle, slack-jawed with amazement. It wasn't every day that they got a glimpse of the world in which their King and Queen resided, after all.

Kisuke jumped nimbly down from the spire. "The first order of business has been taken care of," he said, smiling at the remaining group. "Now then, is everybody here? Have you exchanged your – " Nel began to wail anew " – goodbyes?"

"You told us to save the goodbyes," Yoruichi reminded him.

"Ah, yes." Kisuke did a quick head count. "It seems that we are still a few short, anyway."

Orihime blinked. "What are you talking about?" The sound of a beeping horn made her jump in surprise. She and the others turned in time to see a shiny red convertible fly through the castle gates, sending soldiers running for their lives as it swerved to one side, then the other, and finally came to a screeching halt in front of her.

In the driver's seat, the munchkin Yachiru Kusajishi waved cheerfully, honking the horn again. "Greetings, Promised Child! We have fixed and washed your horseless carriage!" she cried.

Squeezed into the front passenger seat was General Kenpachi, decorated in medals of honor mysteriously shaped like candy and looking borderline unconscious. In the back seat, Momo Hinamori was clinging to General Hitsugaya, who in turn was clinging to the seat behind him much like a cat, his chest rising and falling rapidly. And finally, sitting next to them was Byakuya Kuchiki, his hair blown straight back by the wind, wearing an annoyed expression.

Yoruichi ducked behind Kisuke, but he quickly betrayed her, using his magic to force her back out into the open.

Orihime ran over to the car, eyes wide in amazement. "I can't believe this! It's good as new!" She looked up at Yachiru, who had climbed over the hood to shake her hand enthusiastically. "How did you know how to fix it?"

"We didn't!" the pink-haired girl declared proudly. "But restoration magic works just as well as instructions!"

"Most of the time," Kenpachi added sourly, and chose not to elaborate.

Byakuya calmly opened the passenger door, closed it behind him, then appeared in front of Yoruichi in a flash, holding up the letter that she'd sent to him the day before. Kukaku leaned towards her. "Don't know what you did this time, but I'm pretty sure that you're in trouble," she whispered.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the enraged Kuchiki.

"Uh…"

"Orihime!" Momo cried as she figured out her own door and climbed over Hitsugaya to escape the car. She tottered a bit woozily, but Orihime was quick to steady her. The poor girl was shaking thanks to Yachiru's insane driving. Other than the tremors, though, she'd put on a little weight and was definitely looking much healthier. "Y-You're leaving so soon?" she asked with a pout.

"Sorry Momo. I have to."

Grimmjow was staring at Orihime's car with a bewildered look on his face. "I don't know what that is," he muttered, "but I think I want to marry it."

"I'm waiting, General Shihoin."

"You know, I really _can't_ take you seriously with that hair."

Gin, Rangiku and Rukia had swarmed the vehicle, feeling along its surface for the source of its magical energy. Kenpachi got two steps away from the car before he retched into the emerald green grass. Hitsugaya hadn't moved; his fingernails appeared to have been imbedded into the seat. Nel was now crying _and_ whacking Grimmjow repeatedly for his previous comment, while Renji didn't know whether to join Rukia or attempt to calm Byakuya.

Kisuke sighed. "Really, people, I haven't gotten nearly enough sleep for this. Don't tell me that I have to feed you all as well."

"Yachiru wants candy!" the pink-haired munchkin waved her arms in the air.

Kukaku pat her head affectionately, tuning out Yoruichi's stammering pleas for assistance. "Well, aren't you adorable? Come to Lakeside with me and I'll give you all the candy you want!"

"Don't spoil her!" Kenpachi yelled, only to double over with a queasy groan.

"You were planning on running away again," Byakuya growled to the pony-tailed woman shrinking in his shadow.

"I was," Yoruichi confessed, "b-but it's because I wanted to go back to Earth with Orihime!" She said this loudly enough for all to hear, and the bustle of activity died down as everyone looked between them. Yoruichi walked past Byakuya. "At least for a few months, or a year or two; however long it takes for her to get back on track." She took Orihime's hands and smiled down at her. "You won't need me by your side forever, right?"

Orihime lowered her head. "You would do that for me, Yoruichi-san?"

Kisuke conjured a fan to hide his growing smile. "Alright, enough of all this." He stepped forward. "Someone get the poor general out of that vehicle… ah, yes, thank you Kenpachi. Magicians, you get away from the car as well. You won't find any magic in that thing."

"Aww," the three frowned like disappointed children and joined the rest of the group, leaving just Orihime, Yoruichi, and Kisuke next to the convertible. A light breeze picked up, bringing coolness to the warm day.

"You're sure you want to do this?" the Great Wizard questioned.

Orihime looked back at her motley arrangement of friends. Munchkins, humans, Espada; magicians and soldiers – complete strangers brought together by a common goal, now offering her their fondest and most grateful smiles – except for Byakuya, though his expression was much gentler than it had been moments ago. She loved them all dearly; really, she did. If circumstances had been different, she might have considered staying in Oz.

But something was missing. Some_one _was missing, and he always would be.

"I'm sure," Orihime whispered, shivering as a gust of wind chilled her body, the grass beneath her feet rolling.

Kisuke extended his hand and she received it with a firm shake. "We couldn't have done it without you, Inoue-san." With that said, he transported himself back to the rest of the group, keeping a grip on his hat so that it wouldn't be blown off. "By the way!" he yelled over the sudden roar of the wind, "You might want to take cover in the car!"

"What?" Orihime yelled, unable to hear him. And when she turned around, she saw why: a huge tornado was barreling towards them, blocking out the sun with angry black clouds. Interestingly enough, it didn't seem to affect anybody or anything in the Emerald City; neither debris nor people were being tossed around at its base. Still, she couldn't make it to the convertible before the tornado swept her off her feet, sucking her and Yoruichi and the car into its darkness.

Once the clouds had dissipated, the day returning to its sunshiny state, and everyone had let out a collective sigh, Kisuke snapped his fingers. "Oh! I just remembered something!"

The others looked at him. "Remembered what?" Momo chirped.

Kisuke laughed once, scratched the back of his head, then began walking towards the entrance of the Emerald Castle. "Eh, who's hungry? The munchkin wanted candy, correct?"

"Correct!"

"Oi! What did you remember?" Grimmjow demanded.

"Ask Gin! He knows."

"I do?"

"I think so."

"Don't shove your problems off on me, then!"

They were sad to see Orihime gone, certainly, but they were also tired of being sad. With their world at relative peace, the people of Oz could be their cheerful selves again. They could celebrate the many wonderful days that lay ahead of them. They could pass down a new legend to the future generations: of the clueless yet selfless girl who hadn't run away in the face of the enemy, who had done more than their lazy sovereigns ever would, who had saved them all with little more than faith and two magical hairpins, who had lost that which she treasured most and somehow managed to smile through it all.

All that was left for them now was to be happy, and to wish that same happiness upon their savior.

**To Be Continued**


	24. The Gas Station, Revisited

**A/N: **Welcome to the final chapter of Oz! I can't believe it's ending… so late! This story was supposed to be finished before the end of last year, but oh well. Better late than never! Thanks to all of you for reading and encouraging me to continue.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, The Wizard of Oz, or any other copyrighted material.

**Oz**

**By: Princess Kitty1**

**The Gas Station, Revisited**

Orihime woke up rather abruptly to the festive blasting of trumpets. She sat up with a gasp, a red mark on her forehead from the steering wheel, and looked about her frantically, only to scream when a semi truck zoomed past her glossy red convertible, which was parked on the side of the highway. The radio was blaring Mexican music. "What…" She held a hand to her chest.

She was in the middle of the New Mexican desert.

The sky above her was blue with a light smattering of high clouds, and a cold wind from the west brought her attention to the blue-violet storm in the distance. Without that breeze, however, it was quite hot. Bringing her hand up to the back of her neck, she wiped a decent amount of sweat from her skin.

"I'm back," she whispered before being seized in a fit of joy. "Yoruichi-san, we're back!" she cried, reaching for the pet carrier in the seat next to her and throwing it open. The black cat inside flinched in surprise, but did nothing but meow when the girl brought her out of the cage, holding her high above her head and swinging her happily. "We're back, we're back, we're back! Oh, Yoruichi-san, isn't this _wonderful_?" Orihime paused to get her reaction.

The cat stared at her blankly. Other than looking quite annoyed at having been jostled, there was no glimmer of intelligence behind its gold eyes, no promise of any higher level of reasoning than 'lick self' and 'claw out face of owner.' Orihime stared at her in confusion. "Yoruichi-san?" The cat yawned, then continued to glare at her. Not even a meow of confirmation.

Orihime's brows knit together. She lowered the cat onto her lap and observed her surroundings again. Okay… she was in the New Mexican desert. She knew that much because her car was parked in front of a billboard that she had passed before.

Passed before?

Orihime finally looked down at her clothes. They were different than the ones she had worn to leave Oz. In fact, they were the very same clothes that she'd worn the day that she had been taken to Oz. Running a hand through her hair, she began to feel her stomach sinking when her fingers brushed over the hair clips her brother had given her, flowers intact. There was no way… She remembered her bag and leaned over Yoruichi, finding the purse on the floor of the passenger seat. Moving the cat aside, she set the purse down on her legs, unzipped it, and felt a sucker-punch in the gut.

There was her cell phone, the one that Ulquiorra had destroyed, in one piece. Orihime reached in and pulled the device out, pressing a button to light up the screen. Just as she'd feared: it was the very same day that she had been swept up by the tornado. In fact, it was even an hour or two earlier than the time that she'd left.

Her arm fell to the side, gaze stuck on the center of the steering wheel. "It was a dream, wasn't it, Yoruichi-san?" she whispered, clutching her phone tighter. "Just like Dorothy."

With one poor attempt to gather her wits, she hit number one on her speed dial and lifted the phone to her ear. It rang once, twice, and then her older brother's groggy voice crackled over the speaker. "Orihime-chan?"

"Nii-san…"

She heard a shuffling sound, presumably him sitting up in bed. "It's late, Orihime-chan… wait." The sleepiness left his voice. "Are you okay? You didn't get into an accident, did you? Oh God, are you alright? Did you call the paramedics? Are they on their way? Hold on! Tell me what hospital they take you to and I'll get a plane ticket to-!"

Orihime laughed. "No, I'm fine… sorry. I guess I was just feeling a little homesick and forgot the time over there."

Silence. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, Nii-san. I'm a-ok." She tried to make her tone more upbeat, but it wouldn't budge. Her own mind had just deceived her in a very bad way. She felt betrayed; by her own self, no less. "I'm fine," she whispered, though she was finding it a little hard to breathe at the moment.

Sora must have noticed her distress, because his voice lightened quite a bit. "Don't be sad, Orihime-chan. It'll be winter break before you know it, and I'll be sure to fly you home as soon as you can get here!"

Orihime nodded. "That sounds great." Lifting her gaze to the road ahead, she saw lightning jump through the dark clouds on the horizon. "Hey, I'm going to let you sleep. I think I'm close to the Arizona border."

A loud yawn. "Sounds good to me. Call me when you get there, alright?"

"I will."

The phone call ended. Orihime sat quietly for a few minutes, then turned the volume of the radio down, put the convertible top up, and pulled away from the side of the highway, speeding up to join the traffic.

She couldn't believe it. All those weeks spent in Oz, a mere _dream_. Sure she was known among her friends for having very vivid dreams, and with the severe jet lag she had been suffering since arriving stateside, it really shouldn't have been so surprising. She'd constructed an entire world for herself – probably her subconscious's attempt to soothe her nerves over being abroad and away from home – and had lived in it for however many hours she had been napping.

Yoruichi navigated the luggage for a while, then returned to her carrier, curling up for a nap. Orihime smiled at her sadly. Well, at least she wasn't alone, right? Human in disguise or not, Yoruichi was still her closest friend.

The convertible let out a soft beep and Orihime checked her gas. It was getting pretty low. Thankfully she'd just passed a sign promising a station and food up ahead. Her stomach growled audibly. No harm in picking up a few snacks while she was at it.

The next ten minutes were spent combing over every second of her Oz experience, from start to finish. Of _course _she'd been dreaming. None of that stuff was real. A land where munchkins lived in and harvested candy, where magicians lived alongside people and cities were made of emerald? An evil warlock threatening the world, his own henchmen eventually turning against him? It was too farfetched, the stuff of films. She had a powerful imagination; it had just decided to play a very cruel trick on her. Her heart ached. She wanted to cry, but held it in. If she got started now, she would have to pull over again until her fit subsided, and she didn't want to delay her trip any further.

Orihime drove on, slowly coming to terms with the fact that she was nobody's Promised Child, nobody's savior. She was just a Japanese college student, headed for an American university, thousands of miles from her family and friends.

The wind picked up as she approached the storm, making her vehicle jerk to the side a few times. But she saw the exit for the gas station coming up and allowed that to soothe her. Perhaps she could wait out the storm in there. Would they let her bring Yoruichi inside? She'd have to ask someone.

Once again, the sign for the exit came so quickly that she nearly missed it. Turning off of the highway, Orihime came to an intersection where the highway seemed to split, a green sign listing three different cities with arrows pointing both ahead and to the right. She guided her convertible onto the smaller road that led down to the gas station.

Pulling up to one of the pumps, she parked the convertible and stepped out, her hair thrown back by a gust of wind that caused the **PAY INSIDE **sign taped to the machine to flap noisily. She sighed, then stuck her head back into the car. "I'll be right back, Yoruichi-san."

The sleeping cat dozed on as Orihime walked towards the store. But the moment the girl had gone inside, one of Yoruichi's eyes cracked open. Uncurling herself, she stood up and stuck her paw through a gap in the carrier door and easily unlocked it, then pushed the door open and hopped onto the dashboard. _Sorry Hime… please don't think I was lying to you._ She looked over her shoulder at the gas station that her best friend had disappeared into with what might have been a smile on her feline face. _Truth be told, I think you'll be just fine on your own. You've certainly proven yourself strong enough_.

With a bit of effort, she rolled the convertible window down and jumped through it, landing nimbly on the pavement outside. _Goodbye, Orihime. Take care of yourself_. And with that, she started towards the approaching storm, intending to catch the tornado and get back to Oz. Where would she land? Where would she go from there? She wasn't certain, but she did know that she was anxious to find an adventure of her own.

…

Orihime sighed heavily, staring at the snacks on the shelves but not really seeing them. The shopping basket on her arm was empty, but it felt like it weighed so much. How long would it be before she got back to her normal cheerful self, she wondered? "Focus," she muttered under her breath, and grabbed a treat for Yoruichi, placing it in the corner of the basket. This was really no place to space out. The energetic Mexican music playing from the radio by the cash register was struggling to lift her mood from the pits. And besides, she had to hurry with these groceries so she could load them in the car and bring Yoruichi inside.

"_Hay alguien afuera?"_

"_Mande?"_

"_Que haces? Necesito ayuda con estos frijoles."_

"_Son frijoles. Que demonios esta tan dificil que no puedes con eso?"_

"_Yo no te veo aqui cocinandolos!"_

Orihime grabbed some plastic-wrapped pastries from the shelf, checking their expiration dates before dropping them into the basket with as much enthusiasm as someone getting a cavity drilled. How nice it must have been to know Spanish. Her brain was too fried to even consider taking on a _third_ language. English had been difficult enough for her to…

She slowed to a stop halfway between the pastries and the drinks that she had been fully intending to buy as well. Her heart leapt into her throat, causing her to become short of breath, and her hands began to shake.

She'd remembered something.

This something… this seemingly insignificant something that she had somehow forgotten. No, it made sense that it had slipped her mind; she'd been so stressed in the past few weeks, which she now understood were _not _the product of a dream. She'd lived them. Oh, she definitely had, and the small scar on her leg from the cut she had received during her fall with Ulquiorra was proof enough of that.

But it was something else. The basket slipped from her arm and hit the floor with a _thwack_, its contents spilling at her feet. Tears gathered in her eyes. She blinked them away, because she needed her sight. She needed to be one hundred percent positive of what she saw, of what she had suddenly realized:

She _knew _where the Royal Guard's Ulquiorra was.

Her heart was pounding in her ears. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. How could she have forgotten when Ulquiorra had been, in his own way, trying to protect her from the very beginning? And so she took a deep breath, lifted her head, and turned to face the cash register.

There he was.

And he was staring back at her with those sharp green eyes, legs propped up on the counter, the magazine in his hands drooping slightly. His skin was darker than his double's, but that was to be expected if he lived in the middle of the desert. His expression betrayed absolutely nothing.

The music continued on happily between them. Ulquiorra closed the magazine and set it down on the counter, then put his feet on solid ground and stood from the stool he had been sitting on.

Orihime tried to control her breathing as he came closer to her. She must have looked like some freaky stalker, staring at him and crying as if he were a walking tragedy. He wouldn't recognize her, she thought, because he wasn't _her _Ulquiorra. There was no reason to weird him out. He was probably just coming to help her pick up the things that she had dropped. That seemed like something that a chivalrous member of the Royal Guard would do, right?

Ulquiorra stopped in front of her, but he made no move to retrieve the basket on the floor. Thunder rumbled over the music, promising a downpour. "Orihime Inoue?" he questioned her, and his voice sent her heart stuttering. She nodded once, unable to stop her tears.

"U-Ulquiorra-san?"

Finally, she saw something give: his green eyes softened. "Yes."

Before she could say anything else, his arms circled her waist, he brought her closer, and his lips met hers. Orihime could do nothing but melt against him, eyes falling shut as she returned his kiss, her body threatening to shut down if she put it under anymore stress. But he didn't seem too keen on letting her go. His hand came up to the base of her neck to keep her there, and he kissed her again. With her hands laying flat on his chest, she could feel his own quickened heartbeat beneath his skin.

They separated moments later, but only enough to gaze into each other's eyes, confusion apparent on both of their faces. "How?" she asked him as he gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"That's a very good question," he murmured. "But I'm fairly certain that it had to do with the Six-Petal Flowers."

"T-They broke, though… didn't they?"

"They did." Ulquiorra pushed her hair back. "But you tried to reject my double's death, and since _no_ magic can bring to life someone who has already passed on, the Flowers did the next best thing."

Orihime sniffled. "And that would be…?"

"They brought his memories to me." Her eyes widened as he took her hand and laid it over his heart. "I will not deny that it's very strange, having the thoughts and feelings of someone else in here, but I suppose that he and I were the same to begin with. He was merely granted the opportunity to walk alongside the Promised Child, the savior of our world." He regarded her carefully before allowing a very brief, faint smile onto his face. "It's interesting… how much he had come to love you before he died."

Orihime couldn't help it anymore. She hid her face in his chest, bursting into loud sobs that caused him to stiffen. "Ulquiorra-san!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him.

"Please don't cry, Inoue-san." He held her tighter against him, kissing the top of her head. "It's quite alright." He could see that Kisuke hadn't told her anything; that after leaving the Royal Guard before the start of the war, he had requested to be sent to Earth where he could be away from Oz's joke of a monarchy. Had he known that there _was_ a war going on, had he recognized Orihime's hairpins when she had first come through the store – really, that Wizard ought to stop messing with the fabric of time – he would have jumped into his own car and followed her to Oz.

And then what? Would he have killed his double upon meeting him?

No. It had been a good learning experience for the Espada, if the content sigh that he heard from the back of his mind were anything to go by. He could see him there in the darkness, looking quite tired, his body slowly breaking apart into black ashes. _Don't worry… I'll take good care of her. You can rest now_, he promised. The other said nothing as he faded away, but Ulquiorra knew his own face; he could see the gratitude, the relief, the peace.

Meanwhile, Orihime was blubbering apologies, hands fluttering in the air. "I-I didn't mean to lose it like that. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ulquiorra-san. I won't cry anymore, okay? At least, not after today." She met his gaze, and for a moment it felt as if she were looking at _her _Ulquiorra, but the feeling left as quickly as it had come. "Though I suppose I will have to get to know the real Ulquiorra-san better?"

He contemplated for a moment. "Maybe later," he said before pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Suddenly, the music on the radio was cut off, and a shrill tone caused the station's two enamored occupants to break away from each other. Both stared at the radio guiltily, as if they had been caught doing something that they shouldn't have been.

"_The National Weather Service in Albuquerque has issued a tornado warning for the following counties…_"

Ulquiorra turned back and pressed his forehead to hers. "Sounds bad," he said with that same ghost of a smile that scattered butterflies in her stomach. "You're not going to drive through that, are you?" She smiled back at him as the man on the radio continued to list procedures for avoiding the tornado. "It might be safer if you wait the storm out here."

And Orihime, in absolutely no hurry to leave, nodded happily. "Okay."

**The End**

**A/N: **Now go back to chapter one, read the sneakily vague description of the cashier, and feel free to yell at me for playing with your minds this whole time.

Explanation time! Ulquiorra was the youngest member of the Royal Guard (seventeen or so when he left, which makes him three years older than Orihime), but very much a traditionalist. When the new King and Queen came to power, he refused to serve the pair of cowards and resigned from his position, leaving his sword behind with Urahara and finding refuge on Earth. When Aizen made off with the clone blueprints, he also stole Ulquiorra's sword, leading to the identity mix up.

And what becomes of Espada Ulquiorra now? His consciousness will fuse with the original's, so that they become, in essence, the same person. Luckily for Orihime, _this _Ulquiorra studies at the University of Phoenix as well. Maybe she'll have him in a class or two?

Oz is now officially complete! -throws an enormous party- I would once again like to thank you all for sticking with me… I know this journey in particular has been quite long. I do hope that you enjoyed the story, and that others will enjoy it in the future as well. Until next time!

**/Princess Kitty1/**


End file.
